Hatake Naruto
by MelloKai
Summary: What if Kakashi Hatake took in Naruto as a son? How would this affect his life, and his view of the world? Sorry if title is stupid! Open to flamers! Read and review. As of 9/15/12 I'm beginning the rewrites on this story. Possibly writing more for this. Expect major changes to the story line, along with MORE in each chapter. Updates: Up to chapter 8 so far.
1. A New Family

IT HAD ONLY been a few days since the almighty Kyuubi had viciously attacked Konoho. The Sandaime had been reappointed, in lo of the Yondaime's death, and had been put in charge taking care of a small boy. His short, downy hair was blonde and his large blue eyes lit up when he smiled and giggled. However, Sarutobi could not care for the young forever; but, he didn't know who _could _take in such a boy. All the shinobi of the village _knew_ that this child, this very boy that he cradled in his arms, carried the Kyubbi deep inside of him. Who would ever accept the carrier of such a monstrocity?

Kakashi Hatake had been summoned to the Hokage's office, with the Hokage's hope that he would take the baby, but the Sandaime was quite disappointed.  
"So, _this_ is Minato's babe, ne?" drawled Kakashi. He was only fourteen; he still had much growing to do before he would earn the name of the Copy-Cat ninja. However, even at this young age he was war-hardened, having already lost his best friend. His hiate covered the reminder of his past; everyone knew better than to ask about it. The Sandaime had a feeling he might have to bring it up in order to influence Kakashi to accept the task, though.

"Yes; he needs a proper father. I won't be around forever... A shinobi's life can be over any second," said Sarutobi, quietly rocking baby Naruto. They were not Sandaime and soldier now. They were Sarutobi, Kakashi, and the baby that would form a bond between them forever, should Kakashi accept the mission.

"_What? _You don't think..." When Sarutobi nodded in confirmation, Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "_No._" He spoke firmly, neither intending to weaken his resolve or even consider Sarutobi's request. "I'm still a kid myself. I can't be a father..."

"Why not?" Sarutobi demanded, unintentionally growing combative. "You're smart! You're... connected. I know that you may not have always been that way, but you've said it yourself: those who don't care about their companions are worse than trash."

"He's _not _my companion!" protested Kakashi, the customary drawl disappearing from his voice. "My father never... He was hardly ever there, how in the Hell am I supposed to know what to do? He was so concerned about his teammates he _didn't do what he was supposed to. _Then he killed himself because of them. H—"

"You are stronger than your father, Kakashi. What would Obito say?" asked Sarutobi, his voice soft and curious. He had no intention of berating the boy; he'd been through a lot. "You know that Minato was more of a father to you than anyone else ever was... He's not your son that much is true. But he could be. You have a chance to redeem your family's name!

"You and you alone are the one who must take in this baby. If we can't treat him as a hero, as Minato wanted... at least let him have a normal life!" pleaded Sarutobi, his eyes boring deep into Kakashi's lone, dark orb. Kakashi looked away; the old man's look rattled him. It felt as though he was leering deep into his soul. "I mean look at him... Don't tell me you can say no to this face?"

Sarutobi held up the baby, turning Naruto in his hands so that he face Kakashi. He was holding him gently, with his hands tucked securely under the baby's arms, at the armpit. "His name is Naruto..."

Kakashi took a step closer, a peculiar expression plaguing his features. He was thinking of himself as a father. Sarutobi could see the wheels turning behind the eye of the ninja whose emotions were usually cloaked in secrecy. It was a privileged display of emotion that hardly any ever saw, let alone lived to talk about. Sarutobi rested the infant on his knee; holding the child up for too long would look strange.

When Kakashi said nothing, Sarutobi spoke instead. "Sleep on it, all right? I expect to see you back here at noon, tomorrow."

Wordlessly, Kakashi offered a curt nod in response before sighing and turning to leave. The Sandaime watched him go, almost immediately resuming thoughts of the task at hand now that he was back on the clock. The Sandaime's gaze flickered back down to the child in his hands. Naruto was still resting on his knee. Sandaime smiled when Naruto cried out, stretching his arms out for a bottle.

"Ah, little one... You remind me so much of my own children. Ah... Sometimes I wish they'd never grown up. It'd be nice if they just little children." He smiled at Naruto and the baby giggled as it smiled back, it's lips around the nipple of the bottle.

The Sandaime sighed, smelling the wretched stink of Naruto's diaper. It was a good thing this little guy wasn't potty-trained; he'd have been thrice tempted to keep the child for himself.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KAKASHI TOSSED AND turned all that night. He dreamed that Minato, his dead sensei, was angry with him. Yelling, pleading, even... Minato refused to leave him alone. Kakashi awoke in a cold sweat. He could not fall back asleep. Around six in the morning he rolled out of bed to throw on some clothes.

His apartment felt even lonelier than usual. Kakashi couldn't help but notice the feeling of anger that reared its ugly head deep within him. The portrait of his father, which was hung on the wall over the small fire place, mocked him with every passing moment. Sarutobi had done this to him; _he _was responsible for the sleepless night, the feelings of lonliness, and even worse... the brief flickers of timid hope that were beginning to burn in his chest.

Kakashi grabbed a cup of tea on the way out, slamming the door behind him with such aggression that the portrait of his father fell off of the wall, narrowly avoiding a fiery end.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SARUTOBI JOLTED AWAKE when he heard a knock on his door; he'd expected Kakashi to change his mind, but this was _not_ what he'd had in mind. He wasn't as glad as he should have been that Kakashi had showed up to announce his change of heart, but being the grumpy old man that he was, it was acceptable to answer the door with a dry, sarcastic, "Yes?"

He'd been up all night trying to soothe Naruto. Sarutobi had been doubly frustrated by Kakashi's immediate refusal, because almost a half hour after Kakashi had left, little Naruto had realized he wasn't coming back for a while. Getting the little bugger to fall asleep had been a great ordeal. Sarutobi wasn't about to tell the gray-haired ninja standing before him about _that, _though. No need to scare him away.

"Give me the damn baby." Kakashi snapped impatiently. One hand was stuffed deep in pocket, the other self-coconsciously stroking the back of his neck.

"You'll have to wait till a more appropriate hour to march over here and make such demands. Now _go _home. If you're _sure_, come back at noon. Like I _told_ you to do." Sarutobi repressed a smirk, knowing that he was working the boy just as he hoped to. By insinuating that Kakashi was making a rash decision and didn't know whether or not he actually wanted to baby would ensure that Kakashi would begin to think about how sure he was that he was doing the right thing.

With a frustrated scowl and a nod, Kakashi heaved a loud, dragging sigh before disappearing from Sarutobi's doorstep. Sarutobi watched him roam down the street, a frustrated jaunt augmenting his normally lazy, ambling gate. With a chuckle, Sarutobi shut the door

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

IT WAS FINALLY noon; Kakashi was actually on time to see the Sandaime.

"This isn't something you can just change your mind on, you know. You can't change your mind and just bring him back once he becomes your child," warned Sarutobi, his stern gaze roving over Kakashi's form, looking for any body language that indicate anything that radiated a negation of the shinobi's otherwise confident stature.

Kakashi nodded, holding his arms to accept the infant. Sarutobi gave the child one last hug before proffering him to Kakashi, who smiled in spite of himself. The young ninja cradled the little boy to his chest, marveling at how small and fragile the creature was. Naruto cooed at him, laughing when Kakashi smiled back. Kakashi's visible eye did not crinkle with this smile; he wasn't _thinking _about the mask he war that prevented people from seeing the smile. He didn't need to over-accent the gesture for the baby to know that was smiling. Odd.

"I'll take it you're keeping him?" asked Sarutobi, amusement riddling his voice.

"Yeah..."

With that, Kakashi was gone, leaving Sarutobi staring at them. He was greatly distracted by the absence of the cooing, gurgling creature that had endlessly provided him company for the few days previous. Sarutobi would miss the little boy, but he knew that Naruto would be better off with Kakashi. He absently wondered what the silver-haired youth would do now; he'd conveniently forgotten to tell Kakashi the various foods babies ate and the nasty little messes they made when they spit up or defecated.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KAKASHI STARED AT the baby laying before him on the coffee table, totally unsure of what to do next. He could _smel_l that the child needed changed, but he wasn't entirely sure on what to do with him. He knew the diaper needed to come off, but what then? Did he put the child in the sink and use the nozzle to spray his poop-covered behind? Was he supposed to _wipe _the kid's ass for him?  
Scowling in determination, Kakashi readjusted his mask and grabbed the roll of toilet paper. This would be interesting. He wasn't sure _why_ he'd neglected to ask Sarutobi what to do about this, but he wasn't about to go ask for help now. Naruto giggled as Kakashi pulled at the sticky tabs on the diaper. Kakashi had an absurd mental picture of Naruto as a teenager, with a girl bent over him trying to pull of his diaper.  
Gagging in the back of his throat at both the mental picture and the smell of Naruto's excrement, he pressed the forearm connected to his free hand against his mouth. Peeling the diaper back elicited another gag, but Kakashi persevered. Naruto continued to gurgle mindlessly as Kakashi carefully cleaned, his fingers outstretching for Kakashi's hair. Naruto wasn't even paying attention to what Kakashi was doing. He was too busy staring at the picture above the fireplace.  
"You know, if he hadn't me how disgusting this would be," Kakashi muttered, wrapping his hands around Naruto's ankles so he could lift the baby's but off the table as he pulled the dirty diaper free and replaced it with a clean one," I might not have agreed to this."  
Naruto chuckled as Kakashi fastened the sticky tabs, stretching out his hands to Kakashi again. Kakashi watched the little fingers as they curled and stretched, grabbing repeatedly for him. "You're lucky you're cute."

**Author's Note: Yeah. It's still short; but I like it this way. **

**Read, Review, and leave me comments. :] Open to suggestions, flamers, or compliments. :] Whatever floats your boat. **

**Edit Date: September 15, 2012 **


	2. Diapers, Dead Guys, and Spit Up

KAKASHI WAS ROUSED from his sleep by the sound of Naruto's pitiful cries. It was the fucking time that night. Swearing loudly as he threw back the covers, Kakashi regretfully forced himself to leave the warm sanctity of his bed. Begrudgingly he plodded to the baby's room. He'd even gotten a play-pen for the near future. As he was reminded of how much the damnable thing had cost, he realized he was beginning to think he'd been out of his mind when he'd accepted the baby.

The room that Naruto was in had once been filled with all the spoils of Kakashi's past. Gone were his banners and small tokens of appreciation from Konoha, nothing left in their wake but the empty walls and lonely shelves. Soon they'd be filled with toys, knick-knacks, and the trophies of his adopted son. Kakashi was unsure how to feel about that; he wanted to do his best to care for the boy, but losing his identity along the way was not something he wanted to happen.

He lifted Naruto out of his bed and gently rocked the infant back and forth in his arms as he walked to the kitchen. He set Naruto in the high-chair next to the table—another expensive purchase made on a whim for this strange baby—and made to prepare some formula. The chair itself was adjustable;at the moment Kakashi had it tilted back so Naruto was almost lying down because the little guy wasn't strong enough yet to support his own head. The tray moved with the seat as it moved.

"You're gonna eat me out of house and home, kid," joked Kakashi, pouring the formula into the bottle. Naruto gurgled in response, slapping his hands off the tray of the high-chair in a jerky movement. For such a new baby, he sure did move around a lot. "Huh-uh! You're not gonna tell _me _how it is, you little runt!"

The little blonde-haired baby before shrieked in laughter, but his giggled subsided into a warm murmur of appreciation when Kakashi poked the rubber teet of the bottle to Naruto's lips. He smiled slightly as Naruto drank greedily from the bottle, wondering absently if it would be Minato or Kushina getting up in the middle of the night to feed their son it they hadn't—

Kakashi forced the thought from his mind, trying to ignore the blinding grief that threatened to wash over him. Instead, he refocused his attentions on Naruto and the task at hand. Though it had only occurred in the course of a brief second, Naruto could sense the change in Kakashi's body language. He pushed the rubber teet from his mouth, smiling at Kakashi with a wide, toothless grin. Kakashi smiled back, his visible crinkling in the process. His mask pooled around his throat, the lazy ninja too tired after so many trips to feed the infant to care about his face. There was no threat in the child seeing him without a mask, not yet anyway.

He pressed the rubber teet back into Naruto's mouth, waiting patiently as Naruto drank hungrily. Kakashi used his left to remove the tray from the seat, his right occupied with holding the bottle to the week-old baby's mouth. He threw a towel over his shoulder before he picked Naruto up. He was lucky he was smart; he'd only gone through one shirt before realizing that Naruto was going to spit up after every single time he was fed. He proceeded to burp Naruto as he slowly ambled down the hall.

When he gently lay Naruto down in the crib, he had a small revelation. Turning around the face the play-pen with a suspicious eye, he smiled. In no more than ten minutes, he had set up the square, fabric cage meant to contain an infant when a parent was too busy to hold them. He had a hunch that he would be feeding Naruto again that night; why waste the walk to Naruto's room and the additional sound of tears when he could get to him more easily this way? Kakashi silently climbed in, ignoring the slight squeak of the frame. He curled up into a squashed ball and soon fell asleep.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

HIS DREAMS WERE no longer plagued with Minato's bitter and dissenting face; instead he had nightmares of other things. Constantly he was reminded of his youth and the terror of losing the teammate who'd changed his life. Kakashi wasn't sure why he had nightmares.

Normally he dreamed of the same events of that day happening over and over, with Rin and Obito saying different things to him. Sometimes Obito would plead with Kakashi, begging him to help him. Other times he would curse Kakashi for not helping Rin; he'd mutter again and again about how he didn't know why he'd bothered to save Kakashi but since he had Kakashi had might as well take his eye from him since he'd taken his life already. Kakashi usually woke up from those dreams with the taste of tears on his lips and the smell of vomit in his nostrils.

This time, however, Obito was perfectly fine. He was sitting cross-legged, turned away from Kakashi. This time, Kakashi had saved Rin. Casually he called out to Obito, asking him if he was proud of him. Obito did not answer him, only continued to play with whatever was in front of him. Kakashi called out to the boy again, saying how he'd saved Rin, just as he was supposed to.

Obito still did not answer. Frustrated, Kakashi demanded that Obito turned around. He reminded the dark-haired boy before him that this way was better, because he didn't die. He'd done it on his own. Finally, Obito turned around, a sad smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"I'm already dead, Kakashi," he said. His words were stony and cold. They fell on Kakashi's ears as stones, hard and unrelenting. Kakashi's eyes, normal and unchanged, noticed the baby cradled between Obito's legs. He couldn't see its head, because it was wrapped up in swaddling clothes. "Save the boy, Kakashi."

Kakashi cried out in fear, not knowing what was to be done. His words refused to come, his ability to speak having fled from him before he could even say goodbye. Before he could even apologize...

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

HE COULDN'T REMEMBER the last time he'd had a dream that didn't cause him to wake up in a cold sweat. However, this time, it wasn't the sheer awfulness of the dream that had forced him from sleep. It was the sound of a loud thump and a resulting shushing sound. Kakashi bolted out of the play-pen, startling the intruders. Terrified, they dropped Naruto back into the crib. He cried out at the injustice of being so rudely awoken and dropped so carelessly back into his crib. His thin cry rung out in the room, striking Kakashi with a surprising sense of clarity. '_Save the boy._'

Kakashi made quick work of the first man, who couldn't be any older than he himself was. Why would a teenager be trying to steal a baby? The other had escaped out the window, thankfully without Naruto. Kakashi ran to the window, looking out into the dark after the intruder. He sighed, knowing he wouldn't catch up with him. He closed the window and locked it, knowing that more could still come.

Stepping over the dead body in the center of the floor, he moved to pick Naruto up from the crib. He didn't know what he was saying, but it didn't matter; Kakashi's soothing words calmed Naruto quickly. Naruto was soon asleep again. After putting him back into the crib, Kakashi crouched down over the body on the floor, wondering just who it was that would want to steal an infant. It took him a moment to remember that the Kyubbi, who had destroyed a large part of the village, was sealed within the child.

Kakashi stepped back over to the crib, tugging gently on Naruto's t-shirt. Sarutobi had told him of how when _he_found the baby, there had been a seal on the boy's stomach. If what the old man had said was true, Kakashi couldn't see any evidence of it now. The soft, smooth skin of Naruto's belly was stretched taut across a belly with hardly any baby fat.

Kakashi smiled, feeling slightly bewildered. How the little squirt was so... well _little _was beyond him. The little twerp ate his body weight in formula every day.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to sleep—and what would be the point anyway, if he was doomed to have nightmares- so instead he chose to spend the rest of the night as a sentry, standing guard at the foot of Naruto's crib for the remainder of the night.

"You won't get hurt, Naruto, not while I'm around," he swore vehemently, reaching into the crib. He gently used two long fingers to brush Naruto's hair from his face. "I promise."

Naruto had only been under his care for 56 hours, but the hours meant little to Kakashi. Time comes and time goes, but it was the value of the time spent or the time wasted that mattered.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SARUTOBI SAT UP in surprise at the loud thump of a dead body hitting the 's hand hovered in the air for a moment, the fingers splayed wide. Sarutobi took a moment to study Kakashi's demeanor and expression; he didn't like what he saw.

Kakashi's shoulders sagged with fatigue and his face was dark with the worry of a man much older than his youthful years. Sarutobi wordlessly stood, moved closer to the body, and pushed back the cloth that Kakashi had thoughtfully wrapped the body in. He frowned when, after peeling back the fabric, the smell of death and slight decay wafted up to his nostrils.

His frown deepened when he saw who it was. "Uchiha Akari... He's always been causing trouble for his family... Were there others?"

"One, but they both looked alike." Kakashi confirmed, his hold on Naruto tightening subconsciously. He still needed to take care of the other one; he was still viciously angry that someone would to steal his—Kakashi kept having to remind himself that Naruto was Minato's and not his.

"Mugai. He and Akari never really fit in as Uchihas.. I'm sure they didn't appreciate the Kyuubi killing their parents, as much as they didn't fit in with the rest of their clan. Alas, that cannot be helped," sighed Sarutobi, his gaze lingering for a moment. He pressed the fabric back to the body and stood to his full height. "I will have you moved to a newer, larger apartment with better security. Naruto is a hero, even though he is a baby, and he should be treated as such."

Kakashi nodded, then pause uncomfortably. "Now, you're _sure_that none of the children will know that... that he's... different?"

"Does it bother you that he's different?" Sarutobi asked calmly. Kakashi could see the peculiar look in the elder man's eyes. It angered him deeply.

"No," he snapped, "I just don't want them treating him differently. I wouldn't care if he grows up and decides to wear a pink tutu and call himself Naruto the Great Gonzonga Guy; he'll still be my—Minato's son, and as such I will care for him to my utmost ability. I don't appreciate you insinuating otherwise."

Sarutobi's smile surprised him. "Indeed; I was just checking to make sure that your motives are just. I know you are a fair man, but pride does strange things to people. But to answer your question, yes, it has been forbidden. Those who disobey that order will be sentenced to death, or in certain circumstances there will be other punishments. I can assure you that I am doing everything I can to ensure little Naruto will grow up as close to normal as possible."

Kakashi nodded, patting Naruto affectionately on the head. The sleeping baby murmured in appreciation, and wriggled closer into his chest.

"Oh and Kakashi?" Sarutobi broached absently. Kakash looked up lazily.

"Yes?"

"I suggest you change his last name to Hatake. It will be more convincing to him and to the town. If his last name were to remain Uzumaki, it might raise questions. Many Jonin, especially those whom you are close to, would be able to put together that Minato and Kushino are the birth parents. If he cannot be treated as a hero, I wish for him to at least be treated normally."

Kakashi glanced down at Naruto and then back to the Hokage. "What of me? Am I to tell him of his parents? Or shall I be punished as well?"

"Do not tell him until he's developed his skills and can control his emotions. I don't know how effective this seal is. It cost Minato his life; let us pray it does not cost us anymore, ne? I want you to help Naruto learn things as fast as you can." Sarutobi's tone was casual, accomodating even, but Kakashi didn't want to risk Naruto being used.

"He won't be used as a weapon. If the time ever comes that you try to-"

"This is not for our benefit of him as a fighter, Kakashi," Sarutobi admitted gravely, his face darkening. "I need him to be able to control himself. There's no telling how this seal will hold or what connection the Kyuubi will have with him. It's your job to ensure that Naruto grows up happy and able to control his body. If he brings up the fox inside of him, we will know it has contacted him and there is a connection. If not, we will wait until the time is right. Now go home, get some rest, and enjoy beign with your son."

Kakashi smiled slightly, the kind of genuine smile that didn't quirk his eye into a small sliver. "Hatake Naruto. My little boy... How do you like that?" he mused, brushing the thumb of his right hand over Naruto's smooth cheek. The three lines on Naruto's cheeks were just as smooth as the rest of his skin. "I like that, I think."

Sarutobi could hear the pride in the young but talented Shinobi's voice. "Indeed. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must get back to my paperwork. Could you send someone in to get rid of this thing? It smells awful. Almost as bad as Naruto's diapers." Sarutobi made a face and Kakashi laughed.

"Sure," he said, his visible eye crinkling into a tell-tale smile.

A squeamish looking young man was sent in for the body. He gagged when he saw the pale flesh of the Uchiha staring back at him, but he dutifully hoisted the Uchiha up onto his shoulder. Then promptly passed out.

With a slight laugh, Kakashi signaled for the other shinobi in the hall to take care of it. The kunoichi dumped water onto the unconscious man's face, then proceeded to drag both him and the body out into the hall. Kakashi absentmindedly wondered where he'd be staying. After glancing at the clock on the wall, he realized it was past time for Naruto's feeding. He was quite surprised that Naruto hadn't woken up yet.

The rest of the day was rather calm and relatively normal. Except for the massive amounts of his that the baby produced. Kakashi was horrified when he looked into the diaper to see roughly six times the normal amount of poop; this time it was a nasty greenish brown. He grabbed a baby-wipe and prayed that he would survive.

**Edited : September 17, 2012**


	3. Kind of Scrawny isn't he?

_'__WELL FUCK_,' THOUGHT Kakashi, hastily disposing of the diaper in his hands. '_That was by _far _ the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in all my years as a shinobi.' _

Sadly, he looked down at his once-blue gloves, sighing in despair as he pealed the off. His last pair, gone... "I guess I have to do some more shopping. I hope I don't run into anyone I know." He had no idea what would happen if someone found out he was playing "Mommy Dearest" to a three week old infant. He was becoming more and more prepared to face the ridicule that he knew would eventually come when the cat was let out of the bag.

When he was assigned missions again, he'd have to find someone to babysit the child. Maito Gai would be his best bet, but that bothered his much as leaving Naruto home alone. He and Gai did not always see eye to eye on things; as a result, they'd both been trying to outdo their other by using their own style and own method of training. Kakashi had to admit that, even with the Sharingan, it was a struggle to maintain pace with the green-clad monster of motion. Strange or not, he was one of the few valued friendships that Kakashi had.

Kakashi would realize very quickly that your friends are only as loyal to you as they are willing to watch a baby for you. Very few of his friends would prove to be such upstanding companions.

With Naruto strapped securely to his back, Kakashi calmly propelled himself down the street at his trademark leisurely pace. When greeted with glares of disdain from those who knew what little Naruto actually was, Kakashi glared right bak, daring them to open their mouths and break Sarutobi's law. He felt a strange bond with this child; it was like he actually was his child. Kakashi's defiantly squared his shoulders and proceeded to strut down the street, defying the laws of society that dictated the fearful awe he should hold towards his son.

It was getting easier with every day that passed by to call Naruto his son and not have to mentally correct himself, saying it was Minato's child, not his. He glanced sideways to Asuma who had fallen in step with him a block or so ago. Asume was trying his best, and quite unsuccessfully at that, to stifle his giggles. The cigarette he'd snagged from his team leader wobbled precariously on his lips, threatening to leap to freedom at any false chuckle. When Kakashi turned his glare on him, Asume burst on laughing, sending his cigarette flying. He didn't bother to retrieve it; he had a feeling he'd much rather laugh.

"I'm trying to make a point here; you're ruining the entire thing!" snapped Kakashi in irritation. His eye twitched with each syllable.

Asuma covered his mouth until he eventually managed to stifle his giggles.

"If you're going to walk with me, you're going to help me shop. That's right," Kakashi smiled wickedly beneath his mask. "We're going—_shopping_! Muahaha!""

Asuma made a disappointed face, then surprised Kakashi by smiling. "Alright, fight. But I get to smoke, got it?"

"No! You can't smoke around Naruto! He's a baby!" growled Kakashi, ignoring the icy stares that bore into his back."

"You owe me, Kakashi," Asuma pointed out angrily.

"Fourteen and you're already hooked on cigarettes. How sad..." joked Kakashi. Asume scowled and playfully punched Kakashi on the arm.

Asuma fell behind to tickle Naruto's belly. When the baby squealed with delighted giggles, "Where'd ya get this thing anyway?"

"He's mine." Kakashi waited for Asuma's response, a smile tugging at his concealed lips.

Asuma was quiet for a moment. Then he answered, his voice hushed with awe. "You got_ laid_?"

Kakashi laughed for a long time, having to stop a moment to keep from keeling over in his fit of giggles. He'd had sex before; apparently Asuma had not. As ninja, their life expectancy didn't pan out so well. Kakashi had delved into a life of perversion once he'd hit puberty.

"Well," he chuckled, "generally babies equate to having had sex."

"Who's the mom?"

"She's... She died. I don't wanna talk about it." Kakashi said softly. Asume nodded, knowing better than to prod Kakashi. It was a privilege that he'd actually told him about the baby.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

TWO PAINFUL HOURS later, Kakashi and Asume had finally carried the last of the new items and furniture into Kakashi's new apartment. It was bigger and had much more space, but Kakashi still wanted to sleep in the same room as Naruto. He didn't trust that the baby would be safe.

Naruto had sat in the play-pen while an irritable Asuma helped Kakashi drag the new belongings to their new places. After Asuma went home, Kakashi heated up a bottle for Naruto. Kakashi sat in the highchair next to Kakashi's chair. Kakashi was too tired to bother with cooking, so he heated up a cup of instant ramen. He fed Naruto with one hand and ate his own food with the other. Naruto, fed up with his diet, rejected the rubber teet and reached for Kakashi's cup of ramen.

Kakashi saw what Naruto was reaching for and laughed. He ground up a noodle between his fingers and was about to feed it to Naruto when he heard a voice behind him. "You can't give him solids yet, it'll make him sick." It was Jiraiya, his sensei's sensei.

Kakashi was quite startled; he narrowly avoided dumping his food onto his lap. "Thanks," he muttered, wiping his fingers off on the seat of his pants. He padded over to the counter and set down his noodles. He plucked Naruto from the high-chair and sat on the counter feeding him as he regarded Jiraiya.

"I hadn't gotten to see the baby yet, so I figured I'd swing by..." Jiraiya smiled brilliantly and held his arms out wide. "Come to Uncle Jiraiya!"

"More like Grandpa Jiraiya," teased Kakashi, rolling his visible eye. He grunted in amused discomfort when Jiraiya swatted him on the back of the head. Jiraiya picked Naruto up, then hefted him up and down as he inspected the baby.

"He's kind of small isn't he?" Jiraiya asked, cocking a skeptical brow. "You're gonna have to train the shit out of him."

"Uh-uh. You haven't seen a more terrifying thing than his shitty diapers. I swear." Kakashi said. He seemed so serious that Jiraiya could only smile nervously. "I'd rather be put in life-or-death situations than change his diapers..."

"I'll take your word for it." Jiraiya smiled, handing Naruto back to Kakashi. The last thing he wanted to do was stick around to change a shitty diaper. "By the way, I got you a little something. I expect you'll be spending a lot of nights at home with him, instead of out and about checking out the ladies."

Jiraiya placed a small packed on the counter, then yawned. "All right, kid, I gotta go. Big Mission."

Kakashi nodded, his brows raised in disbelief. "Thanks for stopping by... and the gift."

Jiraiya nodded and departed quickly. After he'd gone, Kakashi gulped down the rest of his ramen and put Naruto in his crib, handing him the bottle. With an exhausted grunt, he collapsed onto the bed next to the crib. Sleep was upon him immediately. Surprisingly, he didn't dream that night.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING, Kakashi sat Naruto in the high-chair and wandered over to the counter as he heated up formula. Naruto was too awake for this early an hour.

As the formula heated, he curiously undid the strings on the package Jiraiya had left for him. The strings fell away and the papers loosened their protective hold. Kakashi peeled them back slowly, savoring the one kind of surprise he _did _enjoy. As a child who'd lost his parents, opening presents had not been something he did much. It was the only kind of surprise that didn't threaten his life and as such it was held with a reverent sort of awe that a child has towards magic.

When he was rewarded with a stack of books, his excitement crumpled. He'd been momentarily excited that Jiraiya had gotten him something cool, but apparently he had been mislead.

Kakashi yanked the paper back over the books in irritation, turning to prepare the bottle for Naruto now that the formula was properly heated. He squirted the formula onto his wrist to ensure it wasn't too hot before he let Naruto have it.

He sat down on the counter as he fed Naruto. He was becoming bored with his routine; it had been nice to have Asuma over. Everytime he got too bored, though, Naruto would coo and giggle at him. It made it all worth it.

Even though he didn't particularly enjoy the idea of reading a book—he'd had it engrained in his mind from his years of vigorous training that reading meant work, from mission statements to jutsu scrolls- and it wasn't something he ever enjoyed he was tempted to at least give it a shot. Sitting here bored wouldn't make his day any more fun.

After Naruto had finished his bottle and Kakashi had properly burped him, he laid the infant down for a nap. He was beginning to enjoy the quiet hours when he could watch Naruto sleep without having to do anything.

Kakashi wandered back out to the kitchen, removed the paper from his gift, and lifted one of the books from the stack to investigate it. Icha-Icha Paradise... what the hell?

He flipped the book over so he could read the back. His visible eye widened with the realization that he would very much enjoy these books. A wild chuckle escaped him and he promptly jogged back to Naruto's room so he could read and practice chakra control.

Kakashi concentrated chara into the soles of his feet and carefully padded up the wall. He hung upside down like that for a while, reading his book in bat-like fashion. Every so often he'd get distracted and crash to the floor. This was the perfect way for him to train and keep his abilities kept up while he was off duty.

**Edited: September 17, 2012**


	4. Naked Naruto and Prego Phobia

NARUTO DARTED PAST Kakashi, waving his underwear above his head. Kakashi made a wild grab for him, but missed. He was sent sprawling across the floor. Kakashi scowled bitterly when Naruto laughed at him, swirling his underwear around one finger.

"Naruto! Come back here! You need to get your damn bath!"

The little brat had grown in the past year and a half. "No!" yelled Naruto, taking off again. He ran into the bedroom. He threw his bare-naked self under the crib he still slept in, stiffening when he Kakashi's feet appeared beside the crib.

"Naruto. You can come out now." Naruto sighed and crawled out from under the bed. He shrieked with glee when Kakashi made a wild grab for him. He laughed, chucking the underwear at Kakashi. Kakashi groaned as it hit him in the face. Naruto pumped his fists in the air and then cheered.

"Check out my ting-ting, Daddy!" yelled Naruto, using both hands to point at his penis. "Looks at it go!" He began to shake his hips. Kakashi repressed an amused smile, lifting his face to the ceiling as he composed himself. Before Naruto could protest, Kakashi grabbed him, and tucked him under one arm as marched them both to the bathroom.

"Dat's not fair! I was showing you sum-fing!"

"Yeah, but I gotcha. You need to get a bath. Now _don't _move." He moved to turn the water on and glanced sideways at Naruto. He could practically see the wheels spinning in the boy's mind. "Naruto,you're getting a bath!"

With that he tied Naruto to the toilet, laughing as Naruto glared at him. "Lemme go, you.. you... poopy diaper!"

Kakashi snickered, tugging on the mask so that it pulled around his throat and wouldn't get wet as he washed Naruto. He untied Naruto and gently sat the boy in the water. Naruto, soon forgetting his anger, began to flounder around in the water. Kakashi handed Naruto his favorite rubber ducky, scowling when Naruto's jerky movements splashed Kakashi with a torrent of water. "Naruto!"

The blonde-haired trickster looked up at him innocently, his blue-eyes perfecting the double-whammy that was his look of innocence. Kakashi sighed, squirting some baby-soap into the palm of his hand. He washed the little tufts of wispy hair on Naruto's head, laughing as Naruto splished and splashed and giggled away.

Naruto's sputtered when Kakashi poured water over Naruto's head; the little rascal hadn't thought to close his mouth and the water had gushed straight in. Kakashi patted the child awkwardly on the back; he was still getting used to this, yet he couldn't say he didn't love it. Having Naruto to take care of was almost like having a family again—here he was accepted no matter what he'd done. He'd sworn to himself long ago that he would be a better father than his father had been. He had no idea what to do about finding a maternal figure for the boy. He'd never had one and he'd turned out just fine—perhaps "just fine" was a loose term but he'd turned out all right despite his perverted thoughts in regards to women.

"Dadda?" Naruto's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts. It was strange for Naruto's choice to be quiet instead of brash and loud; it immediately worried Kakashi and caught his attention.

Kakashi focused Naruto with a steady look. "Yes?"

"Gedda baff wiff me?" asked Naruto, looking up at Kakashi. He turned on the pout he'd recently mastered, knowing that Kakashi would melt and agree to whatever he asked.

Kakashi scowled as he stripped down to nothing and climbed in with Naruto. He sank in beneath the bubbles, grabbing the bottle of soap from the edge of the tub. He squirted it into the palm of his hands and stood Naruto up so he could scrub the thin layer of grime from the boy's body. After he scrubbed Naruto to the point of being almost literally squeaky clean, he stretched his hand out for the soap. Naruto grabbed it, handing it to Kakashi in the jerky, amateur motions that only a child can perform. Kakashi smiled warmly and thank him. He scrubbed his scalp clean, absently whistling the whole time.

Naruto tried to whistle along, but ended up looking rather constipated instead. Kakashi smile slightly, one of the smiles that Naruto could recognize as true. Kakashi scrubbed himself clean, (Keep your heads out of the gutter, now!) freezing when Naruto splashed water in his face. With a delighted giggle, Kakashi splashed back, chortling when Naruto let out a surprised squawk of indignation.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"WHERE IS HE?" muttered Sarutobi in agitation. "He was supposed to meet me here over an hour ago..."

Sarutobi scowled, folding his arms across his chest. "Damn you, Kakashi! Why must you always be late?"

Sarutobi sighed deeply. He was going to have to take manners into his own hands. Without warning, his irritated visage disappeared, leaving nothing of his presence to remain but the light smell of tobacco and caramel candies.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KAKASHI AND NARUTO were in a fully fledged war in the bathtub now. Loud bouts of laughter closely followed by the sounds of vicious splashes could easily be heard from outside the small room.

"So I take it this is why you're late?" asked Sarutobi, calmly leaning against the doorframe. His arms were folded casually over his chest in an openly mocking gesture. He was supremely at ease, not at all perturbed by the naked man and child before him. He was only mildly surprised to see that Kakashi's face, ever-concealed, was cleverly hidden behind a mask of frothy bubbles.

Kakashi jumped, grabbing Naruto to cover himself. Naruto, stubborn as well all know and love him, began to kick and writhe in Kakashi's tentative grip. Sarutobi winced when Naruto landed a kick—yes, indeed, _right _there—and Kakashi repressed his tortured squeak. Years of lessons were heavily ingrained in his mind; he couldn't make a sound of weakness. Why was he always so distracted with this kid; this wasn't the first time someone had snuck up on him. Usually he could tell when people were sneaking up on him, even if they tried to mask their chakra signature.

Kakashi was still in the tub, but it was only a third of the way full. Sarutobi told him that he would be waiting in the living room for them when they had finished "cleaning up." When Sarutobi had mentioned cleaning up, he'd looked around the room with a leery eye. Kakashi made a mental note to conjure up a clone to clean while he took care of drying off Naruto.

Kakashi grabbed an already soaked towel and wrapped it around himself. He rolled Naruto in a dry towel and dutifully carried the little bundle back to his room. Before dressing himself, he performed the necessary seals to conjure up a clone and instructed it to clean the bathroom.

He dressed hurriedly, not even bothering to dry his hair. Preferring to spend more time on Naruto, he carefully dried the young boy's hair and dressed him a pair of clean diaper shorts and a onesie. After pushing his mask back into place, he calmly walked into the living room.

Sarutobi turned to look at him, setting the irrelevant trinket back onto the mantle above the fireplace. "So; have you decided?"

"I'll do it. But, I leave it to you to find someone suitable," murmured Kakashi, nestling Naruto to his chest as he rocked back and forth. It was time for Naruto's nap. He wouldn't fall asleep if Kakashi ignored him and stayed to talk with Sarutobi, though.

"Indeed, I think I have found the perfect one. Maito Guy." Kakashi cringed at Sarutobi's words. "Don't make that face at me, Hatake. He's perfectly capable. There's no reason what-so-ever that he shouldn't watch Naruto."

Kakashi inwardly groaned. '_He's going to turn my son into a youthful _freak!_' _ "Have you already... asked him?"

"Yes. He said he'd do it." Sarutobi turned back to the mantle in an effort to hide his smile. Kakashi only needed to hear the man's voice to know he was grinning.

"Urgh! I swear; if I come home and Naruto is wearing a green jumpsuit, I'll kill him," joked Kakashi, plopping down onto the couch. He used a hand to cradle Naruto's head so he didn't jostle the poor boy. "It's almost time for our nap..."

"You look like you could use a nap," laughed Sarutobi. "You work enough to merit one."

"Man... when you're training Shinobi to stay awake on a mission, just give 'em a baby... I swear he wakes me up every four hours. It used to be every other hour. I'm thankful he's grown out of that. He still drinks formula and eats soft food, but he's pretty good at eating solids..." Kakashi's voice was slurring as he grew more and more tired. "Tell Gai that Naruto is a ramen freak. Make sure he crushes the noodles up really well, though, or Naruto will choke... Don't let him give Naruto any... su..."

Sarutobi stood up silently. With a gentle flick of his hand, he spread the blanket across Kakashi and Naruto. Kakashi was like a song to him; Minato and Sarutobi were the closest things to normal father figures that the young man had ever had. Kakashi was still mourning the loss of his sensei, the prime father figure in his ife, but having Naruto around lessened the burden of sadness.

He didn't have to fake his emotions with Naruto. All of Kakashi's laws about secrecy and defection from normal relationships dissolved around the boy. He could be himself around the boy without thinking. When he was sad, Naruto would snuggle up close to him, offering a babyish hug as though he _knew _his father was hurting. Kakashi hadn't cried in a long time and he knew that Naruto wouldn't, _couldn't _tell. But, he'd been tear-free for a month and a half. The thing that killed him the most was that he'd never had a chance to say goodbye to Minato.

With Obito, he'd been able to say goodbye and promise to protect Rin as Obito had asked. But she was long gone by now... Sometimes he wondered if Naruto would be better off without him; maybe someone else could do the job that he had been selected to do. Deep down he knew no one could love Naruto like he did. No one could be a better father than him. He saw Minato; they saw the beast that had stolen Minato from them. They wouldn't love him the way he did, the way a child was _supposed _to be loved and taken care of. He knew that, he just seemed to forget it sometimes.

Sarutobi shut the door just as quietly, thinking that Kakashi was lucky he didn't have to endure the woman's pregnancy. He remembered a certain occasion from when his own wife was pregnant with their first child, Asuma's older brother. [_Disclaimer: I don't know if Asuma has an older brother, but he had to have if he's Konahamaru's uncle. As for the order in which they were born, I just tried to look it up, only briefly, and didn't find anything. Sorry!_ ]

Biwako had banished him to the Land of Tea to get a certain tea that was only sold there—nowhere else. She chased him off with an umbrella, yelling after him to not forget the special little cakes she'd been craving as well. Naturally, he'd really gotten an earful when he returned home without the cakes. She'd beaten him senseless with that confounded umbrella.

Sarutobi walked back to the Hokage building, absentmindedly thinking of his irrational fear of pregnant women. With a bemused smile, he remembered how he'd avoided Kushina unless Minato was there to accompany him on the visit.

Some people had nightmares of dying, or monsters. Sarutobi, however, had nightmares of hormonal pregnant women brandishing ordinary household object in threatening ways as they demanded whatever food they were craving at the moment. He shivered at the thought, shying from a pregnant woman on the edge of the street. She was out shopping with her husband; they'd stopped at a street vendor.

Sadness crept into him as he remembered his late wife. So many people had been lost... A part of him knew that he was trying to re-focused his energy and life into taking care of Naruto, but another part of him didn't feel that was so bad. It was what his wife would have wanted, had she been alive. Biwako had been a very determined woman. She'd have known what to do.

Furthermore, she'd have ridiculed his acting so frightened of a pregnant woman. Sarutobi bade the young woman and her husband an apology, calling upon the memories of his wife to guide him through this aimless stretch of life.

Author's Note- Yeay! This chapter is longer, cuter, and more meaningful to everything. The hormonal pregnant thing was a spur of the moment thing, because my little brother was sitting on the couch whining because he wanted Mom to come home. So, thus the crazy prego lady phobia was born. I never cease to run out of inspiration. Well almost never. Any ideas, or suggestions, or questions- you know what to do.

!Mellokai!

Edited: September 24, 2012


	5. Sugar Babe

**Author's Note- I am sorry it took me so long, but the power was out in a couple towns where I live, so the computer was down for an hour and a half, and then I went riding with my mom. I finally got to start this at six, but then when I had like half a page, I accidently erased it all. So I appologize!**

**!Mellokai!**

KAKAKSH WAS ROUSED from his dreams when Gai's hand was only inches from his face, preparing to yank his mask off. No one , save for Naruto, knew what he looked like underneath that mask. His hand snapped up to smack Gai's hand out of the way. It was calm and nonsensical but the motion angered Gai nonetheless.

Gai scowled, plopping down on the couch next to Kakashi in a show of defeat. Kakashi, realizing where he was, jumped up from the couch. He quickly handed Naruto to Gai before he made a mad dash for the kitchen. Quickly, he threw together three cups of instant ramen. He handed two of the cups to Gai.

"I make one for you. Grind Naruto's or he'll choke on it," explained Kakashi, proceeding to scarf down his ramen as he pulled on his ninja sandals. He already had his ANBU gear on. He just needed his special mask. He explained some of his rules to Gai as he searched for it. "Don't let him outside; even if you're watching him. He might not seem it but he's excellent at slipping right through your fingers. If he was bigger I'd just yank him into a submission hold, but I don't wanna break his neck."

Kakashi growled in frustration as he picked Naruto's bed up with one hand. Gai smiled slightly; he was pleased to see that his friendly rival had actually improved his abilities while child-rearing. He'd been afraid Kakashi would lose his edge. As much as he and Kakashi competed, he didn't want the gray-haired ninja to lose his edge and allow Gai to win unfairly.

"He needs his diaper changed every half hour—if it doesn't smell get ready because it _will._" Kakashi instructed, searching through a drawer with furious enthusiasm. Gai gently bouned Naruto up and down so he'd be quiet. Naruto was squirming and whining because he'd seen the ramen and wanted his share as well.

"Uhm... oh! He goes to be at eight or eight-thirty. If he fusses just pick him up and wander around in circles and hum or something." Kakashi dug through an old back-pack that he'd used to play 'Treasure Hunters' with Naruto. "Don't forget to make sure you burp him after you give him a drink. Just in case. Sometimes he gets an upset stomach."

"He'll be fine, Kakashi! I can assure you, I see the embers of youth burning in his eyes already! He will soon catch light—"

"Try and cut the whole 'flames of youth' thing in front of him, okay? He's very... impressionable," requested Kakashi, rejoicing slightly when he found the mask. He grimaced when he saw that there were marker scribbles on it. Naruto was hardly a year and a half old. How had he managed to do this? _When _had he managed to do this?

In his haste to leave and his extensive search for his mask, Kakashi had forgotten to tell Gai the most important rule of all.

Kakashi had just caught up with the ANBU team. As he rubbed at the washable marker with the hem of his shirt, he realized what he'd forgotten to tell Gai. Weaning Naruto off of sugar was like forcing a Saki addict to go cold turkey. He was thinking of requesting an additional mission just to avoid Naruto's wicked withdrawal period. He'd needed to find someone else to babysit Naruto. Someone's who creepy smile and youthful analogies wouldn't make his child want to shit his pants profusely.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

GAI WAS PLAYING hide-and-seek with Naruto. At the moment, Gai was the hider. Naruto hobbled into the room and climbed onto the bed. He struggled a few times as the loose comforter shifted beneath his small body. Gai let out sighs of relief each time the little boy managed to hold on and then let out a bemused smile when Naruto pounced on the pillows that Gai had set up.

Naruto frowned when he realized the pillows were a decoy and not actually Gai. He scowled and stomped out of the room, not realizing that Gai was standing on the ceiling, watching him with a satisfied smile on his face all the while. For such a young little guy, Kakashi had obviously been doing some sort of training with him. He was the most inquisitive child Gai had ever seen, though perhaps not the brightest.

Gai had fooled grown men with this trick though; it was one of the oldest in the book. Gai only paid half attention as he listened to Naruto thumping around. He was lost in thought. Mental pictures of training the youth to physical perfection and pitting him in a playful match against Kakashi filled his mind. The light thump from outside the room didn't concern him as much as it should have.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

NARUTO HAD CLEVERLY shoved a chair up to the counter. Clumsily, he climbed onto the counter in search of Gai. In his limited juvenile he wisdom, he was certain Gai was hiding in a cabinet. His electric blue eyes darted to and fro as he searched for Gai. He pushed a bag of sugar to the side with a pudgy toddler-hand to see if Gai was hiding behind it. The bag, having been pushed to a precarious position of half-in and half-out of the cabinet, tumbled to the counter. The top of the bag unfurled to spill raw sugar grains onto the counter. Curiously, Naruto squatted down to inspect the mysterious substance.

He picked up a hand full of it, throwing it high into the air. With a delighted chuckle he watched the sparkling white crystals rain down around him. It was magical. He tossed another handful. Then he lost interested. His fingers moved to his mouth in distraction as he gazed at the chair and the counter, wondering how he'd get down. The moment the sandy white substance met his tongue, he knew what it was. His second favorite thing; sugar, baby!

The tiny toddler kneeled awkwardly on the counter, pressing his pink tongue to the sugar. With a giggle of self-encouragement, he scooped up a handful of sugar and started to chew on it even as it dissolved into a liquid in his mouth. The few teeth had had gnashed and ground the sugary paste into nothing.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

WITH A WORRIED feeling gnawing at the pit of his stomach, Gai dropped from the ceiling. It was quiet. _Too _quiet, for his liking, anyway. Gai walked out to the living room with an air of calm as he looked for Naruto. He didn't want so scare the boy. He also didn't want to dissuade the boy from whatever bad activity he was doing. Gai needed to find out what it was so he could prevent it from happening again.

He was surprised to find Naruto sitting on the counter, shoving sugar into his mouth. When the blonde-haired problem child looked up at Gai, he giggled a never-ending giggle and leaped off of the counter. Gai quickly dived to catch the boy. He hit the floor with a thumb and Naruto landed unceremoniously on his head. With a gentle bounce, Naruto was easily transported from Gai's head to the floor. He whipped off his dirty diaper and waved it around his head.

Gai made a grab for the diaper, grunting when Naruto hurled at him. Gai was hit fully in the face with the side of the diaper covered in baby poop.

"Haha! Me made a poopy!" yelled Naruto, raising his hands in the air as he shook his dirty booty in victory. He ran off again, bare-naked, as he ran off yelling as all little boys did.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

SARUTOBI SMILED AS he read his book; it was nice to have peace and quiet every once in a while. He missed the people who were so often responsible for the noise, but these breaks in which he was granted time to reflect upon his life allowed him to miss them rather than resent them.

Part of him wondered just what kind of antics Naruto was getting up to; every other part of him strongly urged against thinking about what Naruto was doing. That would mean he had to go intervene. Taking care of Naruto was in the very _least,_ a C-class mission; B-class if you were expected to feed him. The young child was not so much dangerous as impossible to keep track of.

Most often he himself had trouble keeping track of the child because he underestimated him. Sarutobi chuckled to himself at the thought of Naruto finally learning ninja skills—_that_ would be a day to remember and mark in the calendar.

With a wry smile he realized that time would be upon them sooner rather than later. Both he and Kakashi had examined the boy's chakra networks. For someone so young, his chakra levels were already staggering. That was probably a result of the treacherous Kyubbi sealed away, deep inside of him, but there were also strong chakra signatures that felt very reminiscent of Minato.

Sarutobi hoped that the nine-tailed fox would not have a hold over the boy's personality. However, that he had felt Minato's chakra signatures as well was interesting. He couldn't be sure that they were specifically his, but it was a good sign. It could have been the massive amounts of effort required to form the seal, or perhaps that Naruto was his son, but nonetheless Sarutobi was pleased to find them. To have only found the startling chakra of the Kyubbi, which was quite different than that of regular Shinobi, would have been a terrifying thing indeed.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

NARUTO MIGHT HAVE trumped him the first time, but now it was personal. Gai had washed the poo from his face and set a trap for the blonde-haired deviant. A pile of babies' teething cookies and a glass of milk sat on the table beside the couch, practically calling for Naruto to come near. Gai lay in watch close by, simply waiting for his chance.

Surely enough, Naruto soon wobbled into the living room on the unskilled legs of a toddler. As Naruto made a mad dash for the baby cookies, Gai dropped from the ceiling and grabbed the struggling little boy.

And surely, soon enough Naruto did the baby hobble-wobble into the living room, and he made a mad dash for the baby cookies. gai dropped from the ceiling and grabbed the struggling Naruto.

"Gotcha!" Gai exclaimed, holding Naruto's stinky body away from his own. He marched off to the bathroom, plopping Naruto into the tub. As he turned on the water and began to scrape the dried crap from Naruto's rear, he frowned. "I swear they don't pay me enough for this."

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

IT WAS MORNING when Kakashi pushed open the door to his home; he was surprised to see that it was spotless. In fact, it was cleaner than it had been when Kakashi left. The gray-haired ninja suspiciously tiptoed into the living room, fully expecting a group of enemy ninja to leap out at him from behind every immaculate corner.

He ducked his head into the kitchen, curious as to how far this image of clean would stretch. It expanded into the kitchen; the sink was clean, the counters were wiped down, and even the floor shined brightly. The bathroom—the cleanest he'd ever seen it even since moving in—smelled of _lemons. _Kakashi adored the smell of lemon. He began to grow suspicious that Naruto had done something bad and Gai was covering up for him.

On tiptoe, Kakashi crept towards the backroom where the open room was. His room, which housed his bed, Naruto's small, shuriken-shaped bed, matching dressers, and Kakashi's growing collection of Jiraiya's books, was spotless as well. That was odd a swell. He passed that room, heading instead into the near-empty room across the hall. Kakashi's things were stuffed into a box in the closet, but a few of Naruto's toys were usually stacked in the corner. These toys were now shoved in the closet as well. Kakashi rose a surprised brow; he had expected to see Gai passed out on the floor with Naruto drawing on his face.

In the middle of the room, Naruto was bent over trying to touch his toes. He was supposed to be stretching, but he kept falling onto his butt when he lost balance. Gai chuckled and helped Naruto back to his feet.

"Not quite, little one, but you'll get there!" Gai looked up from Naruto, his trade-mark smile stretching across his face with the utmost sincerity. "He'll be such a great ninja when he learns a few tricks! You should really start teaching him!"

Kakashi smiled in appreciation and nodded. "Thanks, Gai. I've been hesitant to start training him... He's already so full of energy. I'm afraid to let him get much quicker or I won't be able to keep an eye on him. I know I'm supposed to be an excellent shinobi but... I can't be on full-alert all the time while I am watching him."

"I'd be more than happy to babysit for you again, you know," offered Gai, smiling somewhat shyly. "I don't have my own kid... It's kind of nice. Can he call me Uncle Gai? I'll clean again! He's such a challenge! It's... refreshing! Not to mention his burning desire to learn! He's a pleasure to teach!"

"What exactly have you been teaching him?" asked Kakashi, suddenly weary. "I'd rather teach him anything chakra-control related because he... I don't want to wake up and find him walking around on the ceiling."

"Nothing but Taijutsu; I want to teach him but I don't want to push him too far. It's a delicate balance of teaching and fun at this age. Basically he just stretched and I'm teaching him to side-step. I can't teach him to do much more until he can actually walk without toddling." Gai paused to chuckle for a moment. "Hopefully by then he'll stop chucking his diapers at my face. Ah... What a shame. Maybe once he's out of diapers I'll buy him his own jumpsuit and—"

"Gai, I appreciate you teaching my son Taijutsu but I don't want him to turn into the next 'Good Guy' of Konoha. He'll already have enough trouble with the ladies," laughed Kakashi as he gently teased his so-called rival. Gai smiled again, seeing the slightly rude humor to Kakashi's light jibe.

"Ah, well, but then I don't have a kid do I?" winked Gai. He knew Naruto was not truly Kakashi's but it didn't hurt to joke. It might as well be Kakashi's; they were young but Kakashi having a woman had never been an issue. Kakashi had barely ever given them a second thought though, which Gai had always found purely insane. "However, I can't say I don't envy you, though. I'll have to find my own little ninja boy to take in and teach to be a ninja. It's quite... well, it makes me feel youthful again as well."

"Maito Gai, you are a strange, strange, young man," mused Kakashi, plucking Naruto, who had fallen over again and was beginning to squall, up off of the floor. "If anything, I feel ever so much older. Though much less... faithless."

"Strange I may be, but _proud _I am of _you_. This was... enlightening. It was a challenge, b ut I persevered with the fires of my own youth! Your son, it seems, has... exorbitant amounts of energy."

"Did he get into the... _sugar_?" Kakashi had hushed his voice at the last word, covering Naruto's ears.

Gai nodded sheepishly as he and Kakashi walked to the front door. "I'll see you around! Hopefully little Naruto and I will get to train again," he said in parting, tickling Naruto under the chin. Kakashi nodded and smiled a falsely bright smile. Gai ignored the insincerity of it and returned his smile with a sincere one before Kakashi gently shut the door.

Kakashi quickly got Naruto's sippy-cup of apple juice ready so he could lay Naruto down to bed with something to keep him quiet in case he wouldn't fall asleep. Kakashi was surprised to notice that Naruto had already fallen asleep by the time Kakashi put the boy into his cute little bed. He'd need to know exactly how Gai had trained Naruto; if it was this easy to make Naruto tired after eating sugar he'd need to find out how to do it himself.

"You like Uncle Gai, huh?" murmured Kakashi, leaning against the edge of the shuriken-shaped bed. While it was technically a bed, the edges rose up high enough to form a lip that prevented the child from rolling out. Kakashi himself had made the bed; he'd been sure to install removable soft panels that would confine Naruto.

Naruto gurgled in his sleep, which caused Kakashi to smile just a little bit. He smoothed Naruto's hair with his left hand. His thumb traced the thin layer of grime that was splotched just across Naruto's right cheek. It was ramen paste. _'I'm lucky you came along... Otherwise I might have lost myself, not just Minato and the others.'_

__Edited: September 25, 2012


	6. Bottles and Birdies

**Author's Note- I usually try to get back to all of my reviewers, but my gmail is all screwed up and it won't open the emails. So, alas I cannot, and I appologize! I was also going back to read it so i could find out where I left, out and I am sorry for my horrible spelling in some spots. Again I appologize.**

**!Mellokai!**

NARUTO HAD AWOKEN; this Kakashi was aware of. He'd been aware of it even before Naruto had decided to hurl his empty sippy-cup at his father's head. Kakashi groaned and rolled out of bed, sippy-cup in hand. He staggered out of the room on his way to get more formula for Naruto. Naruto liked juice, but it was easier to get him to go back to sleep if was given formula instead.

As Kakashi heated the strange solution, he began to wonder why Naruto refused to drink milk. Formula smelled weird. '_What's so great about this stuff anyway?_'

Kakashi curiously stared at the sippy-cup held in his hand as he slowly padded back to his bedroom. The handle felt absurdly small in his large hands, but he shrugged, giving in to his curiosity. He tentatively sucked, immediately grimacing when he tasted the bitter formula. "Ack! This is awful... Guh." With a shiver of disgust, he handed the lidded-cup to his son. Naruto gurgled his appreciate, but Kakashi grimaced in pretend annoyance. "Don't you coo at me like that! Just a minute ago you chucked that thing at my _face_!"

Naruto chuckled wildly. Kakashi turned around and groggily made his way back to bed. He suppressed a yell of surprise as he tripped on Naruto's favorite stuffed animal and was sent sprawling through the air. Startled, Naruto dropped his precious drink and pulled himself to his feet. His chubby little hands reached out to Kakashi in earnest; he'd never seen his Daddy hurt before. Kakashi slowly stood up, sensing his son's fear. Sleep slowed his motions, but he made sure to smile and show Naruto that he was okay.

Picking Naruto up in his arms, he blew across Naruto cheeks. This always made him giggle. He carefully bent down to pick up the derelict toy that had tricked him. Go figure, it was a fox, named Cooby. It'd been a few months since Gai had first babysat for him.

_'What a silly word,_' thought Kakashi as he settled Naruto back into bed. Gai had done a good job with Naruto; he no longer called the dark-haired shinobi "mister guy," but instead called him "Unca' Gai." He still couldn't say uncle properly, but he'd realized that Gai was actually his name.

Kakashi was honestly amazed at how easily he'd tricked Naruto into not wanting sugar and instead getting the boy to train. Kakashi had been trying to do that for over a month himself. Gai had gotten it out of him in a few measly nights. Thus Gai had become his personal Taijutsu trainer. Kakashi still maintained the right to teach Naruto to control his chakra, but Gai had fun teaching Naruto the most basic of stretches and muscle-building exercises.

Gai had informed Kakashi that the only way to keep Naruto on this track was to completely lose the sugar; if Naruto came into contact with it again, he might fall off the healthy swing he was on. That meant he had to keep it out of the house completely. Kakashi was heart-broken. He couldn't stand bitter tea in the morning.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

KAKASHI SAT AT the kitchen table, positive that he was dying, just a little bit, with each and every sip of that bitter tea. He'd been drinking it for almost a year and he still couldn't get used to the disgusting taste of it. He ate his toast with his head down as Naruto shoved down his eggs. His birthday was in two months and Kakashi was thinking of throwing him a party. He didn't honestly know of anyone other than Gai that would bother to come. He didn't want to force anyone to go; that would give them even more reason to hate Naruto.

He knew that Gai and probably Sarutobi would come, but he couldn't think of anyone else. Kakashi resolved to find Naruto was many party-goers as would be willing to come; provided that they actually knew the boy, of course.

"Naruto... Today, we are going to the park!" Kakashi informed, standing up from the table. He grabbed some of Naruto's more adorable clothes from the clean pile on the counter. Naruto squealed in protest because he _hated _those clothes. He didn't like the way the mask made his face feel all hot. "we're gonna make friends, okay? Naruto-kun, all the girs'll love ya!"

Kakashi had a faraway look on his face; only Naruto's silence brought him back to Earth .

"Daddy, why you wear dat mask?" asked Naruto. He reached up to tug on it and pull it off. Kakashi let him.

"So nobody knows what I look like," shrugged Kakashi. "Besides, the ladies love a good mystery." Naruto smiled at his father's answer. Kakashi sat Naruto on his shoulders after he dressed him, then carefully marched outside and closed the door behind him. After he locked the door, he took off at a breakneck pace, his hands gripping Naruto beneath the armpits to prevent him from falling off. Naruto's hands were twisted painfully into Kakashi's hair; some of it was pulled loose in the short trip.

When they neared the large park of Konoha, Kakashi slowed to a walk. He plopped Naruto down into a babyswing, being careful to push his sons legs through the openings. He leaned Naruto against back of the swing seat, instructing him sternly to hold on. Naruto's chubby fingers gripped the chains of the swingset with grim determination, but he had to laugh when Kakashi cleared his throat and made a trumpeting sound before he pushed Naruto into the air.

He imagined that he was flying; he was soaring with the birds. Hear he was free with the squawking birds that refused to run from him and him alone. The birds liked him, unlike the mean people.

* * *

*Flashback*

* * *

"_DADDY, WHY DOES everybody hate me?" asked Naruto, sniffling as the tears rolled down his cheeks. _

_Kakashi pulled him close, resting a protective hand against the back of Naruto's head. "They just don't understand you, bud. When people don't understand something, or it's different from them, it scares them shitless." Kakashi was gently hinting that Naruto was different than they were. It would have been a crime to tell Naruto he was the same. It would be a lie. _

_"Why am _I _different? What did I _do_?" demanded Naruto, pulling back from his father's grip. A look of fear was spreading across his face like wildfire. _

_"Naruto, it's not what you did. It's what someone else did." Kakashi said, patting Naruto gently on the top of the head._

_Naruto sighed in consternation, folding his arms across his chest. "Well... what did the other guy do?" _

_"Hey, Naruto, I'm hungry. How bout we go get some ramen?" asked Kakashi with a wide smile. That _had _to get Naruto's mind off of things. _

_Naruto shook his head happily. For a while he was able to forget about the mean people and their words. The rude father of the little boy he'd been playing with had hurt his feelings. Kakashi would have ripped the man's head off had Naruto not been so upset. _

* * *

*End Flashback*

* * *

NARUTO WAS FORCED to forget about his memories of the bad man when he heard the squeak of a separate swing. A young girl and her mother were swinging beside them. Naruto flashed a toothy grin, hoping to make a new friend. In truth, his only friend was Gai, but he didn't count. He wasn't a kid.

When Naruto saw the mother smile back as well as the little girl, his heart soared. "Hiya!" he said, still smiling. "I'm Naruto!"

"Well hello there, Naruto!" the young girl's mother greeted him with a warm smile. "This is Hinata. Hinata Hyugga, actually." She smiled warmly at Naruto—he liked it when she did that. It made his insides feel squishy and warm. When she easily fell into conversation with his father, he attempted to talk to the little girl next to him.

He would prove to have a much more difficult time than his father, only earning one shy smile from the girl when his father earned many and without request. Naruto was beginning to feel sad that the girl didn't like him, but just when he was about to give up, she'd reached out and touched his hand as she swung past him. Naruto had smiled at her, taking in her shy smile. He didn't understand the lengths of the vow he made at that moment, but he made it nonetheless.

Subconsciously, he vowed to make her smile at _least _once on every occasion that he saw her. As a two year old—almost _three _year old—it wasn't a vow that someone should remember when they grew up. It wasn't the kind of vow a normal two year old could even possibly make. But Naruto was not normal. Nor would he forget the promise that he made to himself that day.

**Yeah , another short chapter, but I have to go to school now! Anway, what is Hinata's mom's name? I don't know! Help! Anyway, this is going nicely. This story was actually a request for Hinata Naruto but I twisted it all around. Anyway, though, this won't be what you'll be led to expect as far as love goes.**


	7. Widows, Orpans, and Stragglers Unite

SEATED ON A bench protected by the shade of the expansive tree, the two parents conversed about different child-rearing techniques. The current topic at hand was proper spanking technique; Kakashi was proud to hear that he'd been doing his job correctly. It deeply hurt him whenever he had to spank Naruto, but it was something he'd had to do. It was good to know it had been for a good cause; that he'd even been apprehensive to do it at all had surprised him.

Hannah had been impressed by his progress as well. She knew full well who and what Naruto was, which he'd fully expected because she was married to Hiashi Hyuuga, and Kakashi was overjoyed that she hadn't minded. While some of the families knew, not all of them felt it was appropriate that he, one of the most promising ninja of the village, raise the child that bore the presence of the Kyubi.

"I'm surrounded by emotionless people... All they show is arrogance and contempt for others! For once someone who actually deserves love is getting it... I'm ashamed for the members of my family who've spoken such ill words of both him _and_ Minato... Especially you. You're just as much of a hero as Naruto. I just wish that they could see it."

Kakashi was silent, simply unused to such praise and open kindness. He looked away, embarrassed, to check on Naruto who was playing with Hinata a few yards away. It took him a moment to quash the feelings of suspicion that rose within him; he wasn't used to kindness without cause.

"Naruto! Don't put that in your mouth," chastised Kakashi. His tone was stern, but both Naruto and Hannah could hear the amused lilt. "No—hey! Naruto! Put that _down_!"

No longer amused, he pointed an angry finger at the next to Naruto. Unconsciously, he'd scooted forward to the edge of the bench, fully prepared to take action. "Naruto! Put that caterpillar _down_!" Naruto's hand moved toward his open mouth, while Hinata watched, utterly mystified. "You can't eat that!"

Kakashi got up to grab it from Naruto's hand, but the devious little boy had already popped it into his mouth. Naruto made a face, but when he saw the triumphant look on Kakashi's own face, he manned up a bit. Dutifully, he chewed on the caterpillar, forcing out a strained smile as he did so. Both he and Kakashi knew that Naruto was not enjoying this in the slightest, but Naruto refused to back down.

"You're seriously going to let him eat it?" asked Hannah. She was shocked; was this a new type of parenting? She hadn't read about this in her books. Why didn't Hinata challenge her like this?

"Nope. Watch." Kakashi tilted his head to watch her reaction for a moment before his gaze flickered back to Naruto.

Naruto chomped a few more times before dropping the façade. With a loud, wrenching cough he spit out the body of the caterpillar which was now mangled beyond recognition. He coughed a few more times, his face turning red with the effort, before he sheepishly smiled at his father.

Hannah and Kakashi laughed at the amusing sight, while Hinata smiled. She giggled just a bit, her soft cheeks reddening with embarrassed delight before she made the effort to stand and see if Naruto was okay.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

THE RAIN CAME in fierce, pounding torrents against the roof of their home. Kakashi rocked Naruto back and forth in the rocking chair that he'd pushed into the corner of the room. It was a large rocking chair; normally it would have been used for new mothers so that if the mother or child fell asleep, it would be hard for the baby to be dropped or even fall off the chair.

Naruto was unable to sleep, yet again. The galling winds and thunderclaps of the storm terrified him; his screams of fear and protest rang out through the apartment, mingling with the din of the storm until one couldn't tell them apart until they tried.

Despite how stupid it made him feel, Kakashi brushed the wispy hairs out of Naruto's eyes and began to sing the little boy. "You're eyes they shine, so softly in the night. Hush now, little baby, blue eyes; just close your blue eyes tonight. It is time to sleep and yet you are awake now. Awake now... When will you slumber? Why do you not?"

Naruto's crying began to subside. Kakashi's lips curved into a gentle smile and he paused his singing only momentarily so that he could give Naruto a small kiss on the cheek before he continued his homemade lullaby. "Close your baby blue eyes; just close your eyes tonight. And in the morning everything shall be all right; and in the morning... in the morning everything. Everything will be just fine..."

Naruto sighed and then yawned, leaning his little head against Kakashi's shoulders. His eyes were still open, catching the light of the moon which had broken through the clouds.

"Close your baby-blue eyes, close your little eyes. Shimmering in the moonlight; shimmering, shimmering, shouldn't... Shouldn't you be sleeping now, little baby blue?"

At last, Naruto's eyes were beginning to close, even though the winds were howling louder and louder than ever before.

"At last your eyes are finally closing, closing for tonight. Closing tonight, closing tonight, yes they're closing for the night... Baby blue eyes, blue eyes, such blue eyes, let them open in the morning, open in the morning... open in the morning..."

Naruto was sleeping; the last few lines of Kakashi's lullaby were slurred and fatigue ridden. He'd run out of things to sing about and all he could think of were Naruto's little blue eyes. He prayed that Naruto wouldn't wake up again. He himself didn't want to go to sleep but he'd somehow managed to lull himself off as well.

Kakashi's head slumped down and soon they were sleeping, seemingly unaware of the terrors that swirled and buffeted the walls of their home, knocking down large trees, and drenching the world in translucent wet.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

WHEN KAKASHI DIDN'T meet him for breakfast as they'd planned, Gai ran over to Kakashi's apartment to see what was wrong. He expected to see Kakashi splayed out on the floor, close to his last breath, and Naruto missing, having been stolen by criminals.

What he found, though, was a beautiful example of how a father-son relationship _should _be. He smiled at the sight of Naruto, his father's arms wrapped protectively around him, drooling on Kakashi's shoulder. Kakashi's head hung down, his hair hanging over his face. Gai grabbed an extra blanket and carefully draped it over Kakashi's broad shoulders and Naruto's small frame.

Kakashi was like a brother to him; they competed with one another and though Kakashi had refused to take the bait when they were younger, they always strived to outdo each other. Neither one of them had their own family anymore. Kakashi's mother had died when he young, and his father had committed suicide when Kakashi was still a child. Gai himself couldn't even remember his family; he'd been orphaned long ago and had been forced to teach and train himself in everything until he got to the academy where the real fun began.

It was refreshing for him to finally fit in somewhere. He knew he was different. His _knew_ his green jumpsuit, odd bowl-cut, and nice-guy smile put most people off. But he liked it that way. He was lonely; letting people in only for them to reject him was one of the worst pains of all. Worse than any pain he'd ever feel while training himself to perfection.

That he could accept Naruto and Kakashi into his life so fully now was incredible. Not one of the three males seemed to be part of their first family anymore... only stragglers, widows, and orphans pulling together and forming families of their own.

Gai wondered what his life would be like if he had his own little child. A toddler of his own... he wasn't sure, but he thought it was worth thinking about. Kakashi definitely didn't seem so lonely anymore. He knew they gray-haired ninja would never admit it, but he _had _been lonely. Perhaps that was why they got on so well; he'd seen that look in Kakashi's eye when he met him at the chunnin exams so long ago... he'd known Kakashi would need him some day.

It seemed to him that that day had arrived; he would do whatever he could to ensure that he _was _there whenever and wherever either of them needed him. If he couldn't make it there, he'd be sure to train Naruto to such a level that he wouldn't even _need _protection. Although, Gai had to admit that the idea of Naruto not needing him so day absolutely broke his heart.

**Author's Note- Did you like my lullaby? You know , 16 people have me on story alert? And eight faves. Aren't you proud? WAHoo! Yeay! 17 reviews! I thank you so much! Any suggestions or questions you know what ta do!**

**P.P.S. I am sorry this was soooo late, I started writing it a like 9:30, but I had really bad writers block, and then I really wanted to watch the end of George Lopez. Bad CARMEN! She ran away with some guy named Zack becaus she thinks he loves her and he doens't . I 'm sorry for being totally random!**

**I congratulate you chibiangelfromheaven!**

**I loved your story's Sensei's Child, and a spiral scar. I am gong to start checking my readers profiles to see if you guys write, and if I like your stories I am going to start featuring you in the end of my chapters! Or beginnings, I am not sure. TOODLES!**

**Edited: September 28, 2012**


	8. Beat It

NARUTO'S FOURTH BIRTHDAY was right around the corner. Hannah and Hinata had come to the past party, and he was sure they'd come to this one as well. Jiraiya and Gai were coming, and at the moment they were training Naruto in the backyard. They put music on so they could all keep pace and not leave Naruto behind. It was Naruto's favorite song for the moment. Hinata and Hannah were there as well, and Hinata was training, too, even though Taijutsu was not her strong suit.

'_The fire's in their eyes and their words are really clear. So beat it, just beat it!' _Naruto was getting off track. He pumped his chubby little fists into their air, inventing his own dance as he punched, kicked, and twirled.

'_You better run, you better do what you can. Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man. You wanna be tough, better do what you can! So beat it, but you wanna be bad...' _Now Naruto was breaking it down in the true style of the song. Jiraiya and Gai exchanged glances as Naruto began to kick up dust with the sheer exuberance of his dancing. Then they smiled as they proceeded to shrug into imaginary coats. Hinata howled with laughter as they began to strut their stuff back and forth across the yard.

Jiraiya and Gai strutted shamely across the yard until they met the edge of the fence. Then, they spun around, kicking a leg into the air. They proceeded to sit down on the lawn chairs and sing along, just like the singer was famed to have done.

'_You have to show them that you're really not scare! You're playin' with your life, this ain't no trurth or dare. They'll kick, then they'll beat you, then they'll tell you it's fair! So beat it! But you wanna be bad—" _

Kakashi looked out the window and into the backyard where he saw what Jiraiya and Gai were doing. Any normal man would have dropped the dish he was watching and promptly passed out. Not Kakashi.

_He _ran outside to watch as Gai and Jiraiya danced and swirled, Hinata cheering them on the whole while, all pretenses of shyness forgotten. "Shake it!" she yelled, clapping her hands together.

'_Just beat it, beat it, beat it! No one wants to be defeated! Showin' how funky and strong is your fight; it doesn't matter who's wrong or right. Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it! No one wants to be defeated! Showin' how funky and strong is your fight! It doesn't matter who's wrong or right!' _

Kakashi smirked beneath his mask as he willingly gave in to the insanity. With joyous abandon, he began to leap and swirl in a perfect imitation of the original performer of the song.

'_Just beat, beat it, beat it, beat it; no one wants to be defeated! Showin' how funky and strong is your fight. It doesn't matter who's wrong or right! Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it!" _

Hannah covered her eyes, unnerved by the sensuality of Kakashi's dancing. Hiashi would not be happy if he found out about her leering at a young man's body. Although, wasn't he eighteen by now? She furiously blushed and looked away, ashamed of herself.

'_Beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it! No one wants to be defeated. Showin' how funk and strong is your fight. It doesn't matter who's wrong or who's right. Just beat it, beat it, beat it. Showin' how funky strong is your fight. It doesn't matter who's wrong or right. Just beat it, beat it, beat it! No one wants to be defeated. Showin' how funky and strong is your fight; it doesn't matter who's wrong or right! Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it!' _

Two faces appeared over the edge of the fence. They'd heard the sounds of music and wild cheering and were naturally intrigued. The pudgy boy with swirls on his cheek glanced at his dark-haired companion. "What is this?"

'_Beat it (hoo hoo!) beat it, beat it, beat it! No one wants to be defeated! Showin' how funky and strong is your fight! It doesn't matter who's wrong or right!' _Naruto waved at his friends, calling for them to come in as he danced a wild tattoo upon the Earth. The two looked at each other before hastily clambering over the fence. The large of the two fell to the ground, unable to coordinate himself properly.

"How troublesome..."

'_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it! No one wants to be defeated! Showin' how funky and strong is your fight. It doesn't matter who's wrong or right.' _ Shikamaru and Chouji proved to be excellent dancers, despite the latter of the two's heftiness. Naruto was having fun dancing, though he didn't know if normal people had this much fun doing these kinds of things. '_Just beat it, beat it, beat it! No one wants to be defeated! Jut beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it!' _

Naruto cold have sworn he saw a face bearing wistful onyx eyes framed by black hair staring at them longingly. He only caught a glimpse of it before it disappeared and he was left wondering if he'd really even seen it at all. He stared for a moment and then everyone plopped down on the ground, spent from dancing so vigorously.

'_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it! No one wants to be defeated! Showin' how funky and strong is your fight! It doesn't matter who's wrong or right: just beat it, beat it! Just beat it beat it. Just beat it beat it! Just beat it, beat it! _

They listened to the last verse, simply staring at the clouds as they blew by. Some of them pointed out what they thought they saw while the others agreed or disagreed. Naruto tended to find more optimistic things, whilst some of them found the sadder, pessimistic possibilities in the clouds. Naruto, had he been without his father, would have been one of those pessimistic cloud watchers.

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"FOCUS, NARUTO! YES, it may seem stupid, but I promise you that it will help increase your youthfulness!" cheered Gai, pumping his fists into the air. Naruto whined slightly as he yanked his jacket off again.

"Now through it back onto the hook with more passion this time! Let the burning of your fires _show_!" Gai was practically screaming with excitement as Naruto flung it with a bizarre grin on his face.

"I'm trying, Mr. Gai! I just don't see the _point!_" Naruto yanked his coat off the peg that Gai had drilled into the tree for him. Not using any tools of any kind, no, simply his strength to force the piece of wood into the tree.

Naruto dropped his jacket on the ground, grunting angrily as he bent over to get it. "What does this even—"

"Naruto, have I ever let you down before?" demanded Gai, his voice suddenly serious.

Naruto debated a moment as he yanked his jacket back on. "Hmm... well, there was that one time that you were saying how you and Kakashi were rivals and you almost let me—"

'_Why does he have to act so cool?! Kakashi is rubbing off on him!' _thought Gai, gritting his teeth. "Naruto! In regards to your training, have I ever been unyouthful even in the slightest? Have I ever led you astray?"

"...No, Gai-sensei." Naruto sighed softly and renewed his efforts with burning gusto. Gai cheered happily and did a handstand. He walked around the small boy nearly fifty-times before he resumed an upright stance.

"All right, Naruto! Time for stretching! Let's begin with a simple one. Bend and touch your toes. If you can do that without pain, or you feel you need to stretch more, let your arms hang and try to touch your nose to your knees."

Naruto did as he was told, calling upon his flexibility to press his nose to his knees. At first the backs of his legs protested, but then a warmth spread through them signifying that the stretch was working.

They worked on these exercises for the next few months, with Gai showing Naruto new stretches and making subtle changes to the way that Naruto performed the jacket exercise. He promised that when Naruto turned five he'd tell him what the trick was for, or if he progress enough with it before then. Naruto had returned to the task with gusto over the past month. Now Gai was beginning to question whether or not Naruto would need to wait until then.

Gai longed to teach him more adept stances and things of that nature—he was certain the boy could adapt to them easily—but Kakashi had refused Gai that right. He had explicitly stated that he wanted Naruto to be able to do the basics in his sleep before he could progress to the literal stances. Gai was performing the jacket exercise as something he'd seen done before when someone was excited to learn fight, but hadn't thought about blocking.

The motions of removing the jacket would be very useful when he teaching Naruto to block. He'd also teach Naruto pain resistance—an ability that would allow him to hit, be hit, and still keep fighting—but that was only after he'd taught Naruto that the most important thing to do was to dodge so that he didn't _need _the pain resistance, but he had it to fall back on.

As Gai watched Naruto running laps around one of the training grounds, he smiled to himself. Naruto might grumble when he didn't understand the purpose, but if you could show him _why _he was doing it, he'd do it in a heartbeat. When he'd told him that he needed to train and eat more healthily to be as strong as himself, Naruto had immediately sought out his father and demanded a healthier alternative to the ramen that they both loved.

Kakashi was pleasantly surprised; he'd been trying for a few months to get Naruto to eat more healthy foods. Now if only he could get Naruto to listen to _him_ when he demanded things...

* * *

[.-_-.]

* * *

"WHAT AM I supposed to do again, tou-chan?" asked Naruto, cocking his head to the side as he stared up at his father.

Kakashi sighed and calmly restated what he'd already repeated three times. "All right. I want you to focus on your body. Listen to the sound of your beating, and the rhythm of your heart. And then I want you to try and feel your... it's hard to explain but think of it as a kind of river or energy that courses that your body at all times. It's called your chakra.'

"Catchra? Is that what you use when you change yourself into the boogie monster to make me do my chores?" inquired Naruto, grinning widely. "I wanna learn how to do that!"

"It's chakra, Naruto. Now do what I said and maybe—just _maybe_—I'll teach you how to do it." Kakashi bargained, grinning lightly behind his mask. Naruto grinned and plopped down on the ground.

Kakashi told him to sit cross-legged but Naruto ignored him and lay down on his back. "I feel more swishy at night," he said calmly, not bothering to open his eyes.

Kakashi watched anxiously as Naruto lay on his back, his hands curled into fists on either side of him. "When you find the chakra let me know. It may take some time to find because you don't want your looking for, but after you find it I'll let you know."

Kakashi sat down and crossed his legs as he waited for Naruto to find it. He meditated to build his own reserves as he waited. He knew that he could be reading Icha-Icha, but he didn't want to miss out on Naruto's first chakra-experience by reading. Sure, he'd be paying attention, but his mind wouldn't be completely on task.

After a half-hour trickled by Naruto grunted in anger and sat up. "tou-chan, is it weird that I sat there talking to myself half the time?"

"No. But I told you to clear your head—that's probably why you couldn't focus on your chakra." Pointed out Kakashi, cracking his eye open to take in his son's disheveled appearance.

"Yeah, but it was like an older me that I was talking to! I think it was me, at least. _That _me kept telling _me _to be careful because I have a lot of chakra and I can hurt myself when I disturb it if I'm not careful. Is that true?"

Kakashi was quiet for a moment as he considered what Naruto had told him. "I think that's your conscience... Maybe you're just scared. The only way you could hurt yourself is if you _do_ have larger than normal chakra stores, which wouldn't be completely out of the realm of possibility after all of the training you've been receiving from Gai... Hmm..."

Naruto's eyes widened when Kakashi reached up to slip his hitae-ate away from his left eye. "W-What are you doing, tou-chan?"

"Just checking the flow of your chakra... Don't worry, it won't hurt, I'm just checking..." Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows when he focused on the sharringan, calling on its power for the moment. As Naruto's chakra network came into view, he frowned, realizing just how much chakra the little boy had. It wasn't actually that much for a normal ninja—less than that of a genin—but more chakra for a four year old than Kakashi had ever seen before.

"What's wrong, tou-chan?" asked Naruto, his voice reduced to a whimper of nervousness.

"You just have a _lot _of chakra, that's all..." murmured Kakashi, rubbing a finger across his masked-lips. "I think that you're right. It could hurt you if we're not careful, but we need to start training you soon so you can get a handle on this before it gets way out of hand..."

Naruto sat still for a moment as he considered Kakashi's words. "Why is that bad? Isn't have a lot of catchra—I mean _chakra_—_good_?"

"Having chakra means nothing if you can't control it... If you can't control your chakra you're not going to be a very good ninja. I want to train you before you get too much to ever learn to control it _properly. _Chakra wasting won't help you in a fight," reasoned Kakashi.

Naruto nodded with resolve, though his nervous gulp didn't help to make him look any more determined. "So... what do we do?"

"First, you need to disturb your flow. Get into a position where you can easily locate your chakra reserves and then I will find the weakest point I can. I am going to ask you try to find it yourself, but if you can't I'll show you where to push out the chakra. I am going to warn you now. Push as little as you can at first. If you push to hard... I don't know what will happen." Kakashi's voice was grave and serious; Naruto couldn't help but tremble at the prospect of what he might do if he pushed too hard.

Naruto lay back down, closing his eyes as he centered himself again. He focused on the sound of his breathing and the rhythm of his heart, as his father had instructed. The voice in the back of his mind was quiet this time.

Kakashi's sharringan-eye focused heavily on Naruto's chakra system, trying to pinpoint a weak spot in the flow. It moved very quickly—Kakashi was worried by the different colors of chakra that he found. There were red patches of chakra—very few and in-between—floating around in Naruto's light blue chakra. There were other colors as well, some green and some multicolored, as though the off-spring of a bizarre internal prism.

"Naruto, have you found it yet?"

"I'm trying, Dad, hang on. I think... yeah! I got it! No... wait... I lost it." Naruto gritted his teeth as tried to refocus. When he found it again, he didn't say anything. He focused on it until he could feel it circulating throughout him in a mass of swirling energy. Before his father could say anything, a small voice in the back of his mind told him to focus his chakra into the area between his eyes.

Thoughtlessly, Naruto did as instructed, though he didn't listen to the warning the voice gave about using as little force as possible. In fact, he was so excited that he pushed with all the strength he possibly had.

Kakashi's eyes widened when Naruto's chakra—the light blue variant—began to gather around his face in alarming amounts. He could see it pooling on the surface of Naruto's skin, swirling and massing in plain sight.

"Naruto!" he shook Naruto out of his trance, relieved to see the chakra abate at once. Naruto opened his eyes slowly, giving him a fatigued look. "I told you to only push a little bit!"

"Sorry! But it said to do between my eyes, and it _told _me to be careful but I—I got excited..." Naruto grinned sheepishly at the look of confusion and worry on his father's face.

Kakashi was racking his mind, trying to think of all the reasons that Naruto could be seeing himself in his mind. He resolved to ask Sarutobi about it at the nearest chance. If it was the Kyuubi attempting to win over Naruto's trust so it could get him to do what it wanted... he couldn't allow that. But he couldn't say anything about it either way, because he wasn't yet allowed to tell Naruto about the Kyuubi. "All right, then. Come on, that was quite a feat! Wipe the blood of your face and we'll go to get some Icharaku."

Naruto gleefully hopped up and scrubbed the slight trickle of blood from between his eyes as he and father marched off to Icharaku's. He was so overcome with joy at the prospect of ramen that he didn't notice his father's slightly perturbed behavior.

"Hey, Dad, do you think we can ask if they have some healthy ramen choices? Gai said—"

"I know, he told me," laughed Kakashi. Internally he was frowning, wondering why Naruto could listen to Gai and even the weird voice in his head, but not him. Was he doing a bad job?

**Author's Note- I know you think I am on crack. I'm not. I didn't have school today because my teachers had a meeting. So enjoy! WAHOO!**

**This chapters featured author is KunochiDreamer. I like her story- A new Beginning. YAY! Check it out!**

**Edited: November 9, 2012**


	9. Snakes and Soft Smiles

**Author's Note- This chapter may disturb all Sasuke fans. The Sasuke you know is being completely reinvented, and everyone else will or might be different to better accomodate my story. Btw Sasuke is four, and he feels all alone even though he still has everyone. **

The black-haired boy bugged Naruto. He knew what it felt like to be alone, to be left out. He could see it in the boys eyes. The pain of loneliness.

He tried to push it fro mhis mind, he didn't know if he could help. Kakashi was on mission, and some new babysitter had to be found because Jiraiya was off on research for the perverted books that Naruto didn't know his father read. Gai was on mission with Kakashi, and that left Naruto questionably alone. Sarutobi had to gift shop for the boy, and so he had hired Naruto's first woman babysitter.

* * *

Kakashi kissed Naruto good-bye, and then left Naruto with the babysitter. Naruto stared at her for a moment, taking in her threatening appearence, his little body thriving on fear and adrenaline. He darted past her , and made a wild dash after his father.

He was yanked back as a slimy snake wrapped around his torso, pulling his away from the door back toward _her._ Anko Mitarashi.

* * *

Kakashi smirked when he heard Naruto's fear filled scream , and then he and his team of four left Konoha.

**Back At Kakashi's Apartment.**

"NO!!" screamed Naruto as he watched Anko come closer. He was suprised when she smiled at him. He screaming stopped, and he watched mersmerized as the snakes swirled and bended ; making something.

"What is'at?" asked Naruto softly, his voice dripping curiosity.

" A monster!" she yelled, attacking Naruto with the now wild snakes. They pretended to strike at Naruto, who recoiled, and then fled.

"Wait! I was just playing!" yelled Anko chasing him.

Naruto scrambled under his bed, and curled up into fetile position, trying to contain himself. He was terrified of the snakes, and he didn't care if an ucky girl had seen him cry either.

"Naruto?" she asked softly. " Where are you?" Naruto froze,and he tried to breathe as quietly as he could. He didn't like this woman.

"Come on out, and I'll give you some ramen!" When even this did not coax Naruto from underneath the bed, she crawled under there with him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just having fun."

"How is that fun!" grumbled Naruto. He looked at her crossly.

"Erm, well when..." she paused for a moment, and then spoke up. " When some one feels bad about themselves, or sad, they don't want to be the only one, ya know? "

Naruto nodded. " So , when someone else feels just as crappy ,and just as scared as you, it makes you feel better. You're not alone in feeling crappy."

Naruto nods, and pats her arm in a comforting yet awkward manner. She looks at him and laughs.

"What?"he says, thinking she is laughing at him.

"I'm supposed to be comfortng you, and here you're comforting me!"laughed Anko. She tickled his belly with the now friendly snakes, and Naruto laughed. , and squirmed to get away. He luahged and then took off for the kitchen. He squealed with laughter when she tickled him again, and they ran all over the house, laughing all afternoon.

At eight o'clock she stopped chasing him, so he wouldbe ready to fall asleep when she put him to bed. Putting a hyper-active baby to_ bed_ of all places is _NOT _what you want to .

They watched a kiddy movie untill nine o'clock, and then she laid Naruto in his bed. He had fallen asleep near the end of the movie, but Anko couldn't move him, because he kept waking up , and then drifting back off. He looked so peacful when he was sleeping... Anko smiled, and smile and sat down in the rocker.

* * *

The next morning, Anko toook Naruto to the park. He saw many children, but he was looking for one. He decided that even if his Dadwasn't there to help him help the strange boy, he would try.

He walked determinedly up to the boy, and sat down beside him. "Hi." said Naruto brightly.

"Hey." said the boy cooly.

"What'cha doin'? " asked Naruto excitedly.

"Nothin'..." said the boy sighing.

"Well, what's yer' name?" asked Naruto , slightly put off.

"Sasuke. " Sasuke looked up at Naruto, and stared him right in the eyes.

"Well, hi I'm Naruto. Naruto Hatake." said Naruto thrusting his hand forward. Bewilldered Sasuke took his hand and shook it in a firm grip.

"Wanna go play?" asked Naruto exitedly.

"Yeah!" said Sasuke with enthusiasm.

Anko smiled as she watchde th eotwo run around playing Ninja. '_That little boy sure has a way with people...'_

**Author's NOte- yes I know this is short. Bewware, there may not be a chapter untill Monday. I have to go to my Dad's house, and my brother might not let me on his computer.**


	10. First Day at the Academy

* * *

Naruto eyed the school apprehensively.

"What if they don't like me Daddy? " he asked. His now five year old eyes looked up at Kakashi nervously.

"Naruto you already have a bunch of friends, just stick with them. You'll be fine," he reached down to adjust Naruto's mask. " I promise!"

"You mean it Dadda? " When Kakashi nodded, Narutu hugged his daddy fiercly. " I'm gunna miss you!" he said in a plaintive tone.

"I'll be waiting for you at the end of the day. Right here, okay Naruto?" bargained Kakashi nodded. Naruto nodded, and with a depressed nervous sigh he marched slowly up to the large dorr where the other kids stood chatting . His eyes darting back and forth looking for his friends. He found hinata hiding behind a tree, only half of her face visible , watching the other children all alone.

Naruto ran over, and said hello. Hinata smiled at him freely. She wasn't that shy around him. She only blushed when he complimented her or said something nice.

They played for a while ( Ninja Tag) , until Shikamaru and Chouji walzted over. Naruto laughed when a flying frisbee smack the cloud watching Shikamaru on the head. The whole gang giggled, and then they froze when they heard a rustle behind them. They found Sasuke leaning against the tree watching them longingly. Naruto waved him over , and he brightened. They spent the whole rest of morning recess playing. But then the school bell rung, and they walked to class. naruto had found his friends and he was excited now. He was going to be just like Daddy, an awesome ninja!

Iruka and Mizuki sensei introduced themselves, and they made each student introduce themselves.

"I'm Haruno Sakura... " said a timid looking girl with cherry pink hair. Naruto thought pink hair was silly, but she sure looked pretty to him.

" I'm Yaminaka Ino!" declared Sakura's friend proudly. She smiled , and put a lock of her short blonde hair behind her ear. To the next row.

"Sasuke Uchiha. " came Sasuke's bright young voice. He smiled at naruto excitedly.

" I am Hatake Naruto." said Naruto with a friendly smile. Iruka smiled back, and Mizuki looked at the next student.

"I-I'm Hyuuga Hinata." Mizuki made a face of disbelief and sigust that a Hyugga stuttered, and Naruto stood and glared at him angrilly. Mizuki flinched, suprised. The little boy was emitting such a powerful killing intent, those sitting around him edged away. "I appologize Miss Hyugga." he said smiling a seemingly genuine smile. Naruto smiled at Hinata, who blushed crimson, and they both sat back down . Then the next row of students announced them selves.

"Naru Shikamaru. " drawled Shikamaru in a lazy tone, not lifting his head from his desk.

"MHPH! Amanka Chji. " said Chouji through a mouthful of food.

They went through the rest of the students ( I don't think I am putting my Oc's in here) and then they played a game that tricked everyone into telling about themselves. Iruka would give them a question , and if they didn't answer correctly, they had to tell a couple things about them.

" OK, Sakura. " said Iruka smiling. He knew he would get her. " If y39, then what it is the cirumferance of the circle if the diameter is y? "

"Uh... Huh?" asked Sakura amking a confused face.

" 58.090! Now you get to tell me about yourself. "

"Um, well. I like cherries... I think that my hair shoudn't be pink, and I know that Ino is my bestest friend ever!"

"Okay, good, now Ino. What is 23 x b + 46 + if B is 92?"

"Iruka sensei! I don't like you! " said Ino crossing her arms. "My mom has a flowershop, and I like boys. Sakura is my most bestest friend. "

" 2162, Ino. Alright Sasuke. If Squad A and Squad B are going into the wood at opposite points, and travelig at the same speed, what time does each team reach the center of the woods?"

" At the same time. " said Sasuke smiling triumphantly.

"Good!" said Iruka smiling. " Alright Naruto. Here, no more Mathematics. Do you want to just tell about yourself?"

"What? I'm not stupid! I can answer the question! I promise!" protested naruto. Kakashi had been teaching him thngs from a young age. He could have gotten any of those answers right very easily.

And he did the question right. But he told about himself anyway. Hinata would have gotten it right, but she stumbled over the answer, and got it wrong. Iruka coaxed her into telling, and she finally spit out that she was best friends with Naruto-Kun. Shikimaru perpousfully naswered wrong, so he wouldn't have to do more work in the near future, and Chouji's answer was illaudible due to the food in his mouth. Iruka angrilly grabbed the chips, and tol dhim he could have them after class was over.

At the end of the day, Naruto had realized that he like school very much. It was like a job, and he was important. He ran to Kakashi and told him all about it. Kakashi smiled as Naruto told him all about it as they walked home with Hinata and Hannah. These were the reasons Kakashi loved being a father.


	11. Freedom of the Second Borns

Naruto may have been a smart kid, but studying was still not his thing. His Dad, who knew how to get him to learn, at times tricking him into it, had told Anko and Gai. They would all train with him when they had the time, but it was growing less and less with him. In fact they were all gone on mission, and he was staying at the Hyuuga compound. He was of course being babysat by Hinata's cousin Neji's father, Hyuuga Hizashi.

Naruto was to be in the room next to Neji, should he need anything. After all, Neji was part of the servitude branch. Hinata's room was on the other side of the compound, and it was almost painfully aware that the main branch of the house, other than Hinata and Hannah , were against him for the fact he was different. Naruto had taken up wearing a mask the day before the first day of school. His eye crinkled like his father. He was a month into school, and he loved it, but he had to work hard to learn things. Especially when he was trying to teach himself. He and Hinata were in the Hyuuga training grounds at the moment, and they were being trained along side of Neji with Hizashi. They were training Gentle Fist style, which Naruto was picking up slowly but surely. He had become much more graceful, and Neji no longer scoffed at him openly when he made a huge messup. Hinata had given him extra lessons, because Naruto had begged her.

Neji landed a blow, and Naruto's right arm, his dominant arm dropped limply to his side. But Naruto kept on, this time with renewed vigor, and he landed a blow to Neji pressure point on his shoulder. He may not have been able to use the best form of Gentle Fist like a Hyuuga, but he could use it fairly well. He would have to concentrate as much as possible to make sure Neji didn' fly across the training grounds. he'd done that on accident before. Neji 'd looked like a human air plane. Neji was eight, even though they were still seven.

Naruto had an incredibly hard time controlling his chakra. It was like when he needed to use just a pinch of chakra, the top of the shaker fell off everytime, making a mess of salt and ruining his food. Just like to much chakra ruins whatever jutsu he happened to be performing. But he was getting bettwer with the help of his friends, and they all shared the techniques that helped them to better control their chakra.

Neji, on the spur of a moment, grabbed a Kunai, and tried to cut through his mask. Kakashi had taught him not to let that happen. Naruto wondered why he couldn't let people see his face, but he didn't mind. His Dad had taught him to respect and listen to his elders, and his superiors, though he he sometimes faught with them, and got in their faces if he thought they were wrong.

The sun beat down on them, and sweat trickled down their spines. Neji hadn't seen Naruto's face since he'd come to the compound nearly a year ago. Neji hadn't talked to him, because he simply didn't have the time to. He was more open with Naruto now, and he had smiled more often. Before Neji had been lonely. Sometimes being a genious can have its downsides. He had been forced to work hard by Hiashi, Hinata's father. Hinata's father scorned her for not being more forward and more strong. But Naruto had stood up for her, and told her father what he really thought. Hiashi glared at him and Naruto glared back. And then Naruto was kicked out of the Hyuuga compound for a week. But when he came back Hiashi explained to him why it was so important for Hinata to be stronger, because she was from the main branch of the house. Hiashi appologised for being so rude, but he had to teach Hinata a lesson.

"She's only nervous around you because she's scared to death of you. You're her father, but if you don't let her work at her own pace , she won't make any progress. Come to our next training practice, and don't let her see you. It'll be just me and her, that's when she works best. Neji's busy that ay anyway. " Naruto told Hiashi the when and where, and then Hiashi nodded. " You shouldn't treat her any better or worse than Neji. You're family, and my Daddy taught me that no matter what- family is important and you love them no matter what!"

That had been the day before, when Naruto had come over to be baby-sat and watched, and Naruto had an extra practice with Hinata after this. Hinata knew that, as did Hizashi and Neji. After a while, Hizashi called it a draw, and Naruto let out a laugh that mingled with his sigh of relief. He plopped down on the ground, and gulped the air into his lungs. Neji had plopped down next to him, and Naruto put his hands behind his head. He pointed out a flower shaped cloud, and Neji said it didn't look like anything but white fluff.

" You have to use your imagination Neji. All you see is what is there, but what about the underneath? " asked Naruto reaching over lazily to smack him on the forehead.

Neji shrugged. After a while he pointed to a different cloud, and pointed out a square.

"Ha!" laughed Naruto he rolled over onto his side, laughing.

"What?" said Neji sitting up. "What's so funny about a square?"

"It's just, I mean - a square? Are you kidding me?" Neji gave Naruto an incredilous look.

"Well excuse me for trying to take your advice!" said Neji angrilly.He turned away from Naruto angrilly.

"I'm sorry!! I didn't mean it like that. It's just that- I don't know. No one's ever really seen a square in th elcouds. Cloud watchers see what they see, not what is really there. People think seeing different stuff means different things, right? So what does seeing a square mean?"

"Maybe I should think outside of the box, ne?" snorted Neji smiling. " I mean look. The cloud could be a box, and I'm outside of it, so shouldn't I think like I am?"

Naruto smiled, then stood up. He offered a brotherly hand to Neji , who accepted, and then they parted ways. Hizashi and Neji were going on a father son lunch break, and Hinata already left for training. Naruto knew that he would be late, so he ran as fastas his seven year old legs would carry him.

"Wat'cha doin'? " asked Naruto peering over Hinata's shoulder. Hinata's smiled . She'd recognise that catch phrase anywhere. She rarely knew a day he didn't say it.

Hinata and Naruto quickly got to training. Hinata landed a few blows, but Naruto did his best to dodge them. He was excrutiatingly tired. HIs whole body screamed for him to stop, but he had to prove Hinata a good fighter to her father. This wasn't the time for him to give up and be lazy like he usuallly was.

He landed a glancing blow on her shoulder, but she determinedly pushed on. She jabbed here and there, closing certain chakra points. He continued fighting, unaware ofthe damgae she was doing. Then he felt it. He couldn't use his chakra at all anymore. It was stuck in the pit of his stomach, where it remained trapped.

He hit the ground, and he groaned in pain. "Unh. Hinata! You're carrying me back. I can't move. " Hinata pretended to walk away, and then she his behind a tree." Hinata! Don't leave me out here! "

Hinata laughed then jumped out from behind the tree. Naruto was tired, and his whole body hurt. Hinata had blocked all of the chakra points along his arms and shoulders, and a few on his legs and stomach. The rest had been from Neji's brutal attack.

She threw him over her shoulder, and she strolled leisruely back to the compound. He shoulders hurt something terriblly, but she felt sorry for Naruto. She knew he wouldn't be able to move again until a few days later. If he did, he might permanently damage his muscles and chakra points.

Hizashi watched the two sparrign partners fighting, and he smiled. She really was as good as he'd hoped. She wasn't as good as Neji, but she sure was smart. She knew the body like the back of her hand, and where to hit, picking out Naruto's weaknesses. She had been the dominator, leaving Naruto to defend himself for the most part. He smirked. Naruto was an enthusiastic little squirt. He loved that boy. He had grown very fond of having him around. He noticed Hinata was less and less shy as she hung around him, and she was improving. Neji was smiling more, and talking to people like a normal child. Maybe Naruto was right. They were a family, and maybe it was time they started acting that way.

The sun was shining through the window onto Naruto's face, and he didn't raise a hand to block it. He was too tired. He sighed and closed his eyes. He was soon sleeping again, his mind wandering , drifting from dream to dream. He felt like he was free from all his inhibitions, and he could accomplish anything. The face of Sarutobi-jiisan, and he was talking to him.

"Ah, little one. You remind me so much of my own children. Ah... Sometimes I wish they'd never grown up and just stayed little children. " Nareuto noticed that Sarutobi-jiisan looked younger then.

He looked around, and he saw the Hokage's office. But it looked different. The paint was a differnent shade, and it smelled funny. Like a stinky diaper.

* * *

Naruto sat up when Neji brought in his food. Neji beamed at Naruto, and sat down while Naruto picked up a rice ball.

" You look happy this morning, Neji!" smiled Naruto. He lifted the bottomg of his mask, a fraction, and bowed his head to take a bite. Neji was used to this by now. He used to think it odd, but then everything about Naruto was odd and different, wasn't it?

" Hiashi-sama said that there will no longer be branch families! He said starting today we are all equals. The main brnach family's elders were angry, but everyone else was completely satisfied by the situation. They all cheered, but the elders got pissed even more. They said that this was a show of total disrespect.

But it wasn't, Hiashi-sama told them that forcing the other 'lower' branches was a total show of disrespect.He told them very politely that they would have to live with his decision, as it was for the better of the clan. " Neji laughed out loud, and he smiled at Naruto, and then he revealed his forhead.

"I'm never getting one! I don't ever have to get the gursed bird cage tattoo!" laughed Neji. He ran to the window, and Naruto watched and listened as he pointed out all the things he saw in the sky. Naruto laughed and talked with Neji for a while, then Neji excused himself to go train. He finished his breakfast, and looked at the scroll that sat next to him on the nightstand. Neji had left it for him, and it was a scroll on different fighting techinques and stances. He read it all the way through, studying and mentally practicing. He was overjoyed Neji was finally free of his sp-thought "destiny" to be a servant for life.

He read and reread the scroll , and then moved onto the next one. It was on defensive tactics, and tricks of the trade. Neji's jagged yet somehow neat scrawl was added everywhere, pointing out diadvantages and little extra tips of info , and shards of information not included. At the very back of the scroll, was a short barely leggible scribble. It read "Thanks dobe. No more destiny crap - I promise. Neji." Naruto smiled, and plopped back on his pillows. He was healing exceptionally fast, and soon he'd be able to kick Neji's but for calling him an idiot.

**Author's Note- I haven't written for this in iawhile, so I figured I'd make a pimpin' awesome chapter. I know some things are very weirdish, but this is my story dammit! I'll do what I want! Thank you, now moving on . Check out my other stories. This chapter, altho he is not a reader i would like to credit Agent-G, the author of an amazing Hatake Naruto story. Look it up! You'll like his better probably, but he is the one who opened me to this idea, and I would like to thank my readers from Love In Death , who inspired me to write this. Music Artist of the week- it's a vote. **

**Would you rahter:**

**Enya or A Fine Frenzy or Paramore Flyleaf **


	12. Electrocuted Execution

Naruto sat up, jolted awake by a loud sound. He heard a feminine scream , one that he recognised-Hinata's .He leapt up from his bed, and he stiffened when he heard it again, faint muffled. He chased the sound of her little scream, and when he saw where it was coming from he felt the anger boil up in his chest. Someone had crammed her into a tiny bag, and was running off with only her head poking through the tiny opening in the bag.

Naruto took off as fast as he could after the man, but the man was too fast. Naruto pushed chakra into his feet as his father had taught him, and he roared on after the man. His eyes burned hot, and it stung as the red bled into them. He was acutely aware of the fact that red chakra was rippling through his body. He shook the thought from his mind, and focused on getting Hinata back. His fits were clenched, the knuckles white. His jaw was locked, and his teeth bared.

He leapt at the man, and the man slipped forward, Hinata and the small bag slipping from his shoulder. Naruto and the strange shinobi fell to ground, and Naruto barely felt the blow to his face, all he could focus on was the rage begging to escape. He let out a roar, and the chakra exploded. It burst from his body, encircling him, the raw power cutting off and streaming through the air.

"Lightning Style! Electrocuted Execution!" hissed the Lightning Shinobi. He caught Naruto unawares, and Naruto let out a tortured scream as the lightning literally burnt the clothing from his body. His shirt was gone, and his once long pants were burnt into short shorts. his hair was blackened, and his body covered in scorched marks, and black soot. Hinata called out to him, but Naruto did not hear he fell to the ground shaking. The Lightning Shinobi laughed and picked Naruto up by the throat, and he squeezed, causing Naruto to cry out in pain.

" Not so tough now, are we ? You're just a little boy. A worthless little boy. You should've died along with your father that night!" Naruto didn't understand, but he didn't want anyone talking about him or his Daddy like that. Little did he know though...

The chakra burst once more from his injured little battered body, and Naruto snarled, and bit down on the man's hand. The man scowled, and dropped Naruto to the ground nursing his hand as he backed away. Naruto pounced, and with ihs elongated claws he scratched and dismembered the evil shinobi.

Naruto had still been going at the dead carcass when a strong pair of hands pulled him off . Naruto recognised the smell of Hizashi, and he slumped back in relief. Hizashi realized a moment later that Naruto had passed out. He took a mere second examining him before taking off for the Konoha hospital, and leaving Hiashi to get Hinata.

Hiashi crooned over Hinata, hugging her close for what seemed like the first time, and he patted her awkwardly on the head, and asked her if she was alright. Hinata nodded, and then asked him about Naruto.

"Uncle Hizashi has taken him to the hospital. He'll be fine." said Hiashi in what he hoped was a convincing tone. He wasn't sure if Naruto would be well... He looked pretty bad. He dreaded the return of Kakashi and the rest of Naruto's family. But what he dreaded even more was the fact that Konoha had just signed a treaty with the Lightning Nation, and that Naruto had broken the treaty by killing the shinobi. But he had a plan, even though he dreaded using it. Although, Naruto would have to come through if they were going to use _that_plan. Hiashi sighed and carried Hinata home after pulling her out of that awful cramped bag.

* * *

"Naruto?" the voice of angel Naruto thought. He longed to see the face it belonged to, but he couldn't seem to open his eyes. They felt so heavy... He couldn't move, it was as if his body was weighted down by invisible yet massive amounts of weight.

" Naruto? Wake up Naruto? " 'D_addy?'_thought Naruto '_What is he doing here? He supposed to be on mission... Something bad must of happened...'_

"Daddy?" he whispered, his voice finally working. He barely felt the strong arms that wrapped around his body, hugging him close. But he knew it was his Daddy. He could just see his eye crinkling in joy...

* * *

Naruto had drifted back to sleep. He had only been semi-concious at the time when Kakashi had first got there. Naruto might never know that his 'angel' was infact Hinata trying to wake him up.

The doctors had forbade the wearing of Naruto's mask as it got in the way of Naruto's oxygen mask. The mask would have constricted and impaired the movement of oxygen through the mask. Neji, although this was not the way he had expected, had finally got his wish. He was amazed at how much Naruto looked like Kakashi. The eyes weren't quiet right, but he assumed he got them from his mother. They both had a similar jaw line, the same nose. The same crinkle eyed smile. But Neji noticed the long whisker shaped marks that seemed to have been etched into his skin. He made a mental note to make sure that nick name stuck with Naruto. Whisk. Neji smirked, and glanced at Hinata, who had fallen asleep at the edge of the bed. He wondered what she was thinking right now. Naruto had saved her life and all, but he wondered if Hinata would have wanted to sleep on a regular bed. He picked her up and set her down on the long chair in the corner of the room, and he curled himself up on the small chair in the other corner.

* * *

Kakashi smiled when he walked back into Naruto's hospital room. Hinata was sprawled out on the large couch-like chair, and Neji was upside down in the small chair in the corner. His head hung off where your legs were supposed to , and his legs were pointing to the ceiling, resting against the back of the chair, and his feet drifting slightly toward his head.

Kakashi knew that he would not have the money to pay for the hospital bills, but luckily for doing a great service to Konoha he wouldn't have to pay for it.

Kakashi had been angered by the mere mention of Hiashi's idea, and he had in fact hit the man. But Hiashi had understood that Kakashi was defensive of his son, and did not want to put his son through that. Hiashi had wanted to counter threaten the Lightning Nation with the notion that they would send the Kyuubi after them if they didn't cooperate. And there was the fact that the Lightning Nation had broken the treaty when they had tried to kidnap the Hyuuga heiress.

Kakashi had appologized to Hiashi, but he was slightly worried, the whole matter with the treaty was still to be resolved.

Kakashi plopped down in a chair, and let himself fall asleep next to his son. He knew someday Naruto would find out he wasn't really the father, but he would tell Naruto the truth. At least he hoped he would. Pressure, and the realization of losing someone dear to you could change even the most dedicated , and stubborn person's mind. He just hoped that he would be able to keep Naruto's faith, even if Naruto knew. Sometimes he wondered if taking Naruto was, not in Kakashi's best interest, but Naruto's. He knew no one could love him more, but sometimes he wondered if maybe he had more money to take care of Naruto, a bigger home...

Kakashi pushed the useless thoughts of what if's and could have beens and could haves and should haves from his mind, knowing that dwelling on them would only make things seem worse then they were. '_Naruto and I are just fine... Right?'_

**Author's Note: How did you like it? I am sorry I haven't written in so long, I was kind of trying to figure out how to do this, ya know? The whole fight thing, and it is a big deal in the plot, ya know? So anyway, if you have time, go to free webs . com /mellokai and enter my contest! I have decided to make my own contest , so uh... DO IT! PLEASE!! (Just remove the spaces. )**

**I'll give you a cyber cookie! Chocolate chip, with white chocolate chunks!YUMMY!**


	13. Thoughts, Resolutions, and Sugar Rushes

Through-out the whole time Naruto was in the hospital, he always had someone at his side, watching over and caring for him. He was glad he had his friends. Sakura even came to visit him, but he hid under the sheets, giving the lame excuse that he was naked. But she just smiled and left his present on the stand next to his hospital bed. He had waited for her to leave before sitting up , and opening it. He smiled.

It was a mask, and it was expensive at that. It was velvety, and green. It was a camouflage mask , with long brown streaks on the cheeks. This mask would allow him to hide in the bushes and such when he got better. Naruto pulled it on, and smiled. A perfect fit. And the fabric was breathable. It promoted the flow of air, and didn't trap the hot breath in on his face.

He picked up the card that Sakura tucked into the bag. The bag was orange, his favorite color, and little fox stickers decorated it. He smiled, and was touched she had thought to put them on. But he faltered when he realized something. His Daddy had been right. He was different. He finally knew why people had detested him. Because he was so much different. There was , to him, no logical way to explain the fact of why he was different.

'_If I'm so different, why does everyone come to see me everyday?' _Naruto was alone for the moment, his father had excused himself to return the 'Call of Nature'. '_ How can they stand to look at me? I killed someone for Kami's sake... Does that make me a murderer? No. No, I was protecting Hinata! I didn't do anything wrong, I'm a good guy... I think.'_

Kakashi walked out of the bathroom, and he saw Naruto sitting up, staring at the mask at his hands, an obviously new mask gracing his boyish features. He could see Naruto's features drawn together in a pained expression. His messy blond hair hung over his forehead, casting shadows over his eyes.

Kakashi set a hand on Naruto's shoulder, and Naruto looked up at him. "What's the matter, musuko?"

" Did I do something bad?" asked naruto lpooking up at his Daddy.

"No, why? What do you mean something bad?" asked kakashi, his brow furrowing.

"I killed someone isn't that bad. " Naruto said looking away. He heard Kakashi sigh, and he felt the mattress sag slightly as his father sat down on the edge, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, normally I would be very against you killing just yet, but given the circumstances, I wouldn't have said no. What you did was a very great thing. You saved Hinata. And you killed, yes, but you killed a very bad man! And he deserved all that he got."

"But Granpa and Uncle Gai were talking, and they said somebody was really mad. They said I broke the law!" said Naruto.

"I"ll worry about that Naruto, but trust me- you did the right thing!" Kakashi said standing. " I have to go, but I'm sure your little friend hinata would like to stay with you. Neji's here too. I'll send them in. "

Hinata and Neji came in and stayed with him while Kakashi was gone. They worked on simple chakra exercises with Naruto to keep him at his best. Hinata had not yet 'found' her Byakugan, and yet she seemed to be getting along perfectly without it. Neji and Hinata had grown closer together, and were now like brother and sister, rather cousin and sister. Neji always came to her rescue when someone picked on, and they were picking on her less and less. Sakura had been giving her lessons in confidence, and had taught her to fight back when someone picked on her. Hinata hardly stuttered anymore. Hinata was in fact laughing with Naruto right now.

* * *

Kakashi sighed. It had been taken care of . Sarutobi had told him all of it.

**Flashback **(Everybody get ready. )

_"Something must be done. " said the Hikarikage _( sorry I couldn't find the correct one I had to improvise slightly ) _" You have killed one of our shibobi, and unless something is done, this is grounds for a war. And we, my friends , are fully well prepared to do that."_

" Now now. Don't be hasty Takinashu. There is no need for a war. But, as for the death of your shinobi, for him to killed by a mere child...He couldn't of been a great assett to the Village Hidden in the Clouds?" asked Sarutobi-sama.

" No, but the fact of the matter is - you broke the treaty. " said Takinashu-sama calmly.

" Indeed we have. But if this had been in your own land, the police force, would they not have taken the man down? Weren't we in all respects doing your Land as much of a favor as yours? The vigilante had been apprehended, and indeed the little boy did go overborad a little bit, but just as well he is gone. I understand that they were after the Hyuugas, in an attempt for ransom, and possibly to steal the bloodline. Such a wise respectable man can surely see this. " said Sarutobi, his face calm and understanding.

"Well yes -... But in this future, I would like to have the vigilante captured, questioned , then killed later , when and if you have my approval. " said The Hikarikage. He stood up and left the room, followed closely by all of his advisers and body guards.

The two Hyuugas sitting in the room let out enormous sighs of relief, and leaned hugged each other. Who says brother Hyuugas can't show a little love?

Sarutobi smiled, and stodd up, stretching his sore old back, and that was when he went to tell Kakashi of all that had happened in the past aggravated hour.

* * *

Naruto was out of the hospital, and was doing , although forced, as the doctor had instructed. He was taking it "easy". But he had been trying to do as his father had shown him. He would sit upside down on the underneath of a large branch , and when he could do it no longer, his father would catch him and carry him back up to the branch, and after resting a few moments, Naruto would try again. His chakra control seemed to be getting better, but unbearably slowly. It was like having chakra control dyslexia. It took him a week to master what took others mere hours. But his teacher didn't seem to mind. He and Iruka were close. Iruka was like yet another Uncle. Iruka-oji.

Kakashi was now a ninja again, although not full time. Naruto had gotten out of the hospital only a week ago, and he would think it bad of himself to leave Naruto so soon. He was trying so hard to be the opposite of his father. If he could be called that. All that man had ever done for him was a roof over his head and food in his belly, and cracked his soul. Kakashi would have rather starved than be with that man .

The apartment was getting to small. All of Naruto's and Kakashi's belongings together made the place crammed. And Gai's adopted son Lee was always coming over to play with Naruto . He was a year older, but he acted every bit as young as Naruto. And they each had the same issue. They could not eat raw sugar. It led to mass chaos. Kakashi and Gai had taken Lee and Naruto out to eat, and the too youngsters had found the little packets of sugar that were for the coffees Gai and Kakashi had ordered.

They had been kicked out of that restaurant for life. Lee had busted a gigantic whole in the wall, and Naruto had managed to cover the owner in food, as well as the near whole of the customers. After the children had crashed back to Earth from their sugar high, all of them went to Itaraku ramen stand. Naruto and Lee gulped down their food, and then they headed home. Kakashi and Gai were secretly dreading the sleep-over that followed.

**Author's Note- Terribly sorry I haven't posted in so long . I was grounded for a while, but now I am back. YAY! SUMMER. Anyway. I am glad . I have over 40 people who have me on story alert! wahoo! And about 25+ have me faved as a story, and about 6 or seven people have me faved as an author, and 3 people have me on author alert. Not bad, eh? HAHH! I am sooooo happy. **


	14. Lights Out

**Author's Note: I am soooooo sorry I haven't posted in so long . I have just been busy with summer, and you know all that stuff! So I have resolved to right a few good chapters, as soon as much as possible. I will I write as many as i have inspiration for.**

**P.S.! There will be a MAJOR disturbance in the way that the teams are laid out. XP ( everyone is in the same year!!)  
**

Naruto and Lee sparred back in forth, both blocking and dodging the others hands and feet, and the occasional head. Naruto might not have been as fast as Lee, but he was great at improvising with off the wall moves. Lee threw a fist at Naruto's face, expecting him to jerk back . He would then spin, and hit Naruto from behind, and he would have all the advantage he needed to win , if he succeeded. He was right and he landed a kick with the side of his leg on Naruto's back. Naruto lurched forward, and Lee moved in for "kill" so to speak. but, to his surprise, Naruto was gone. He'd sprung to the side when he'd landed on the palms of his hands, and Lee could not see him.

Naruto sank to the ground behind the large Oak tree, jumping when he heard Lee's voice beside him. "Gotcha!" Naruto crossed his arms in front of his face,and shielded his face from the punch that Lee had thrown. He jumped up from where he'd been seated, and took off . He ran low, his body close to the ground, as fast as he could. Lee was hot on his trail, nearly got up with him. Naruto grabbed two fistfuls of sand , and he leapt into the air, and spun around. He flung the sand into Lee's eyes, and he smiled when Lee stopped to furiously rub at his eyes. He shimmied up the tall Birch, and watched from above as Lee looked for him. Lee jumped up a few branches of a tree near to him.

"What'cha doin'?" asked Naruto , dropping down in front of Lee. Lee's face was mingled with surprise and horror as the slender branch beneath them broke, and they both began to fall.

They both fell into the arms of their respected fathers, who expertly flipped them over onto their backs. They were now being carried piggy back style.

" I think that they've had enough, Gai." said Kakashi , his eye crinklig slightly with a half smile.

" Yes, they burn brightly with the Fires of Youth!" exclaimed Gai, " We must blow _gently _upon the fiery embers of Youth, least it be blown out by the prodding gusts of wind. We must not dowse the fire with too much blowing!" The other three in the clearing gave him exasperated looks.

"Daddy, you should be a p-, a p-" Lee struggled as he tried to remember the word. His nine year old brain was having trouble comprehending things do to the lack of oxygen. He'd been working very hard.

" A poet?" asked Kakashi laughing. " I dunno. Maybe. I don't think I can see _you _as a poet, Gai!"

"Why not?" protested Gai.

They argued the whole way home, and when they parted, Lee and Naruto laughed and said good-bye. And then they said goodbye to Shikamaru and Choji, who they'd run into on the way home. Hinata and Neji were on vacation from their training, actually forbidden. They'd worked themselves into the ground, as their Fathers had said. So they revised to walk and train with Naruto and Lee, when their parents weren't watching. They didn't want to lose their touch. They were now the best they'd ever been, and they didn't want to waste all their hard work. Sometimes parents just didn't seem to understand.

Neji and Hinata followed along talking to Naruto , who was riding piggy-back on Kakashi's back.

"Daddy can they spend the night?" asked Naruto, leaning his head against his Father's back.

"If it's okay with their parents. " said Kakashi . And he knew it would be. They almost always spent the night at the others home. They were either at Kakashi's hourse, Gai's house, or the Hyuuga compound. Naruto, Gai ,Lee, and Kakashi were some of the few none-Hyuuga's that could simply walk into the Hyuuga's compound without permission.

After Hinata and Neji had grabbed some clothes, and their necessities, and other non essentials ( teddy bear for Hinata and a "blankie" for Neji), they were off to the Hatake home. Kakashi had bought two sets of bunk beds for Naruto's friends. He knew that they might not sleep a wink, but that was okay with him . They were kids, and they were good kids. They wouldn't cause too much trouble, right?

Naruto hopped down from his Dad's back, and he ran toward a bent over shape in the middle of the street.

"Whatcha doin', Sasuke?" asked Naruto brightly . He faultered when Sasuke didn't look up. "Sasuke?" he said timidly. He bent down and looked at Sasuke's face. It was badly scraped as he'd done a nose dive into the street. It was nearly midnight, why was he in the street without his parents? What had happened?

"Daddy!! " yelled Naruto. " Help me! Something's wrong with Sasuke!"

* * *

Sasuke gingerly opened his eyes. His whole body hurt. It was when he remembered _why _his whole body hurt, that he felt the pain. The pain that was so different than any other he'd ever experienced.

"Sasuke? We thought you'd never wake up! " breathed Naruto. He smiled at Sasuke, who tried to smile back , but it crumpled. "What's wrong? "

" They're gone... " whispered Sasuke. Kakashi's face softened, and he felt crushed for the little boy . He'd been there , done that, and been trying his whole life to get over it.

" What happened Sasuke?" asked Kakashi, his face sincerely read concerned. " Just let it out. You have to , or it'll eat you up inside. You don't have to say it now, when you're ready, okay?" Sasuke nodded, and told him everything. Naruto , Hinata, Neji, Lee, and Gai sat listening in horror as Sasuke told Kakashi of what he'd done. How Itachi'd killed them. Killed all of them. Every last one but him. And he didn't even know why. Itachi hadn't even explained it that well...

Kakashi hugged the small boy. He felt his pain. Kami only know what would happen to the poor lost soul now...

**Author's Note- Again sorry for the month without updates, but I hope this partially makes up for it! I didn't have any inspiration, but when i starting writing it started coming to me ! **

Thanks, and sorry,

Lauren


	15. Runaway

Sasuke was staying with Kakashi and Naruto, and he was trying to be happy , he really was. But it's hard to be happy when everyone you know and love, is ripped away from you. Like someone jerking the carpet out of under your feet, and then pouring something very slippery on the floor so that you fall every time you try to stand. He would be happy (comparatively) for a few days, and then fall back into into his pit of young depression. He didn't know what do to do, how to carry on. Talking seemed to make it hurt worse, so he tried to stop talking about it. But Kakashi would talk to him, and somehow manage to trick him into talking about the happier times of life, without Sasuke even realizing how it had it had happened. When he did realize he would stop, and change the subject.

Naruto felt left out at times, but he said nothing. Gai had talked about it with him, and he understood that it was hard for Sasuke, and he didn't want his Dad to be mad at him. Naruto had really gotten in trouble when he threw a fit because Kakashi was too busy with Sasuke to read him his usual good-night story. But , after a while Naruto started to get mad. Kakashi was his Daddy. Not Sasuke's! He'd fight Sasuke for him if he had too, but for now he'd just talk to Sasuke.

That night, after Kakashi had gone to bed , and had tucked Sasuke in and read him a story, and quickly thrown the covers over Naruto, Naruto crept over to Sasuke's room.

"Sasuke? " whispered Naruto.

" What Naruto? " asked Sasuke agitatedly.

" Are you trying to steal my Daddy? " asked Naruto , his voice shaking.

" No. " said Sasuke, and you could tell he was lying. It wasn't like he was evil, but he had never had a Daddy who loved him , and showed it. His Dad had been reserved and directed most of his love towards Itachi, the older brother.

" Why? " Naruto trembled. " Why are you doing this!"

" Because you don't deserve him! " hissed Sasuke.

" Yes I do! " retorted Naruto.

" No you don't! You never clean up after yourself, or help him unless he asks you!" Sasuke was barely whispering.

But this Naruto shouted. " He's my Daddy ! Not yours! " And with that he jumped at Sasuke, and he began to pummel him , until Sasuke kicked him off, and fought back . They rolled around on the floor, their hands wrapped around each other's throats. Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto's teeth began to lengthen, ripping through his sleeping mask . His finger nails grew longer, and dug into Sasuke's flesh. Sasuke's eyes were closing , the lack of oxygen had his head spinning, and he felt like he was flying. He wondered how it could be that Naruto had gotten the best of him...He had always beaten Naruto in class, even though he was an exceptional fighter for his age. Sasuke knew he was supposed to be better than Naruto... But he had lost...

" Get off of him, Naruto! " yelled Kakashi. He ripped Naruto off of Sasuke , and plopped him on the floor. He studied his wounds, and performed a quick healing jutsu on the cuts on his neck , and then he turned to Naruto. " What the hell is wrong with you! You could've killed him!" Naruto cowered in the corner, crying. Now his Daddy was mad.

" But Daddy, --"

" Go to your room! "

"Bu-"

"NOW! " ordered Kakashi. Naruto whimpered, trying to hold back his tears as he crept from the room back to his own.

Sasuke was just like him. Kakashi and Sasuke had both lost some of the same things. Kakashi saw so much of himself in the child. If he could just stop him from making the same mistakes he had ... He could keep him from being so hidden, and save him from the loneliness...

* * *

Kakashi's words rang through his head as he cried silently into his pillow.

"_He doesn't love me anymore. It's Sasuke this, and Sasuke that! He even noticed me. They'd be better off with out me... One little happy family! I'll go live by myself. I don't need anyone!" _thought Naruto, and he waited until the house was silent again to struggle with his window. He finally managed to get it open, and he let out the breath he'd been holding. He threw some clothes into his backpack, and then he slipped out of his room to get some food from the kitchen. He shoved as much as he could fit in his pack and then hobbled to his room He stuffed a pillow under the covers, and stuffed a toy crown onto the corner of it. He continued placing things here and there, then stood back to admire his work. If you didn't look too close, you would never know it wasn't him.

He held his pack out the window, and let it drop with a light thump to the porch roof below. He clambered out the window, sighing in relief when he heard no sounds of movement within. It was now that he realized how far the drop to the roof below seemed. He closed his eyes, and let go of the window sill. He landed lightly on the roof, it wasn't as far as he'd expected.He put the pack straps over his shoulder, and then leaped down from the low porch roof. He hit the ground running, and he took off for the only place he knew he could go.

* * *

He gently wrapped on the window, wondering why he didn't wake up. He knocked a little bit harder, and he almost smiled when Neji rolled out of bed , and hit the floor. It might have been funny, but he couldn't afford Neji's parents waking up. They would probably send him home, or tell Kakashi that Naruto was there.

Neji , after seeing Naruto's panicked face, opened the window and let him in.

"What's wrong? " he asked. When Naruto told him , he remained silent.

" So, can I stay here tonight? I'll be gone in the morning, I promise! " pleaded Naruto , his eyes begging. "Please?"

Neji nodded, and sighed. " Just don't be too loud, and you'll have to leave pretty earlie. Papa wakes up pretty early in the morning. " said Neji before rolling over and falling back asleep. Naruto didn't know just yet where he was going, but he would figure that out in the morning. Hopefully he would be able to get up early enough.

**Author's Note- Still trying to make up for the lack of writing! Kakashi is not evil or anything, but he just gets caught up in trying to help Sasuke from himself. So, please, don't think too badly of Kakashi!**

Mellokai!


	16. Finding Him

Okay! I am asking all of you to come up with a great quote, or something you like to say a lot! Or even a great comparison on anything. I'll post it in the next chapter!  
I had trouble with this chapter so bare with me!

* * *

Naruto slipped out the window, and left it cracked, just slightly opened. He shimmied down the rain gutter, and then made his way to the door in and out of the compound, and he scrambled over it. He couldn't risk wasting the time opening and closing the huge door. But, he had wasted some of the time when nearly fell off.

He scampered down the path , and then ran down the streets, his head covered by a bath towel that he had wrapped around it to protect himself from being found.

He ran into the woods, and then slowed to a walk. He lost track of time, as he slowly walked through the forest. The forest was amazing, the trees so big and tall, and so many animals lived there. It was like you were in a whole different world when you were there! He was walking along when he heard a thump , and a rustle. He jumped, and hid behind a tree. Neji was walking through the woods, carrying some kind of sack over his shoulder. Naruto still stayed hidden, he wasn't sure if it really was Neji. He seemed to ,... preoccupied, and hesitant. Naruto silently scaled the tree, and then from one of the upper-most branches he watched. Neji dropped the sack by a tree, and then took off. Near the edge of the forest, with a puff of cloud, Neji transformed back into Hinata. Naruto scowled slightly. Neji had told...

* * *

Kakashi knocked on Naruto's door. When Naruto said nothing he started to speak.

" You're not going to apologize to him, are you? He tried to kill me!" said Sasuke angrily.

" Yes , I am . I need to talk to him . I realize now that I should've told him why that what he did last night was wrong. Now he's going to think I don't care about him! " said Kakashi , his eye worried.

Sasuke let out a huff of surprise, and disbelief and stomped down the hall. Kakashi chuckled.

"Naruto? You don't have to open the door, I understand that you probably don't want to see me right now. I know that last night , I didn't come and talk to you, and read your bed-time story like I always do. But, that doesn't mean that you can attack little Sasuke. I know I told you not to show off in class, so he thinks he's stronger than you are. But we both know that 's not true, and I don't want you attacking people because you get angry. Okay?" When Naruto didn't answer him, he asked again. " Naruto?" Kakashi twisted the door handle, and nudged the door open. He waded through the toys that littered the floor as he made his way to Naruto's. He always slept in the bottom bunk bed on the west wall. Naruto was curled up in a ball, and facing the wall, or so Kakashi thought. He smiled for a second. 'Ah, he's all tuckered out. ' thought Kakashi.

He reached out to smooth down the perma-cowlick on the back of Naruto's hair, as he always did when Naruto was sleeping . As soon as he touched the "fake Naruto" there was a large puff of smoke, and the objects that Naruto placed there appeared. Kakashi froze, completely shocked. Naruto's was gone...

* * *

Naruto sailed through the air, and landed on all fours, much like a cat would. He opened the sack, and pulled out the large box, and a smaller box. that the sack had contained. He pulled the lid off of the box, and found that Hinata had crammed in a couple of Obentos. The other box contained a note, and a piece of candy. Naruto smiled. Maybe Neji telling Hinata wasn't a bad thing. He smiled, and ripped open an Obento. he knew that Neji and Hinata ate these everyonce in a while when they were training really hard, and didn't have time to go get lunch. These were going to have to last him, if he was going to live out in the wild. He ate it slowly, and then packed everything up when he was done with it .

He carried it up the tree that he had just jumped down from, and crammed the awkwardly shaped back into the little nook where he thought he might sleep that night. He was contemplating building a little tree house, but he didn't really know how. Maybe he would sneak into the library, incognito of course, and find a scroll on how to build a tree-house. Maybe they would have , but he wasn't entirely sure.

* * *

Kakashi had summoned Pakkun, one of his tracking hounds. Pakkun trailed the scent to Neji's, and Kakashi followed close behind. They walked in through the front door, and walked straight up to Neji's and Hinata's fathers, and asked them of Naruto's disapearence, but , Kakashi as embarrassed as he was, did not go into details. How could he have simply forgotten about his son?

Hiashi and Hizashi talked to their children, and when neither of them fessed, they seperated them , and explained the importance of finding Naruto. Hinata seemed worried that Naruto would starve, but she didn't know where he was ( yet!), so she didn't tell them. And Neji wouldn't tell , not for Naruto's sake but his. His father had told him over and over again that he wasn't allowed to have friends over when he hadn't asked. he didn't want to get in trouble. After Kakashi and Pakkun left, he would tell Hinata of where Naruto was.

So, Kakashi left to meet up with Gai and Lee, and then they all set out to search for Naruto . Sasuke was staying with Sarutobi, who didn't mind. He missed having little children running around.

* * *

Naruto was curled up in a ball, inside the trunk of the tree. He had spent all day Hollowing it out. It was an old tree, one that the Japanese beetles had devoured long ago. He had killed all the bugs crawling on it, and tried to set up a bug barrier. It only get the flies and the beetles, and tiny bugs out, but the butterflies, birds, and anything bigger than the size of a quarter got through. A persistent cat was trying to get inside the tree, and after a while he let the cat in, and curled up against the inner wall. He had carved about a six foot ceiling, and a 7 foot by 9 patch of ground. He had left the walls, and floor about 4 inches thick, so that it wouldn't get wet, and the walls wouldn't collapse. Some would wonder how he could get the big of a space out of a tree, but remember that the trees in Konahgakure are very large.

Naruto was still sleeping when Pakkun had sniffed his way to the old tree. He nudged the bark door out of the way, and Kakashi set it quietly on the ground. He peered in at Naruto and sighed. His hair was dirty, and it no longer looked blonde. It was dirty, and covered in wood shavings, and little bits of sap from where he'd leaned on different trees. Kalashi put the tree-bark door back on the tree, and whispered to Pakkun.

" Okay, we're gunna leave here for now, and then..." his voice drifted into a low whisper, and the only one who could here him was Pakkun. Pakkun smiled a doggy-smile, and nodded.

" Knowing Naruto, that will work!" panted Pakkun.

Author's Note- I know that this may be a little hard to wrap your head around, it was kinda hard for me to unwrap so to speak. I am glad I got it out though, it needed to be written! Thanks! Mellokai!


	17. Snoozer

Naruto sat up in " new home" as he referred to it now . He thought maybe when he had figured this " survival" thing out that he might move again to a better home. A tree house even. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew it was better than being stuck at home with _Sasuke..._

Naruto stretched out his cramped muscles, and then crawled out of his little "Home", and then packed everything up and set it on a higher shelf, where he hope no one would find it. He was thinking about making this place bigger. He had thought about building a cabin, and he quickly ruled that out. If his father was walking through the woods, looking for him , he qould surely find Naruto. And building a cabin would take a long time in such an obvious location. He would have had to work at night.

So it was then that he decided a tree house work best. He couldn't expect to live in that little space. He would grow into it, and then after long it would get to big for him. Naruto strolled along casually , taking in the forest carefully, taking track of where he'd been and where he was going. He couldn't loose his home. The hole in the tree in which he slept in was only a couple of inches off the ground, he hadn't thought it through to well, and he knew that if he didn't get back soon the raccoons and wild animals would get to it and steal his only belongings.

So after a while, he turned back, and headed to his new home for lunch. He had skipped breakfast. He was trying to be efficient, but he wasn't doing a very good job. He had neglected to remember the fact that breakfast was one of the most important meals of the day, providing the energy that he would need to survive out here in the wilderness.

* * *

Naruto was busy trying to knock the tree down by charging his leg full of chakra and then kicking the tree in hopes his leg would act like a blade and chop the tree down. It didn't work. He had chipped away almost an inch of tree in an hour. He wanted to cut it down so that he could start building his tree house above the one that he carved out the day before. After a while his chakra reserves were beginning to wane. He plopped down on the ground, not wanting to waste the last of the energy he had. He couldn't afford to be weak at night. He was afraid that the bears were going to get him after the sun set. He'd run into one the night before, but had crept away unnoticed by the magnificent beast.

His eyes drooped lower and lower, and he slipped into a slumber. He dreampt of things as they were before Sasuke's family was gone, and he realized something. If he hadn't rushed to help Sasuke, he wouldn't have lost his Daddy to him... He didn't understand the dream. He had dreampt it many times, and yet he still never knew what it meant when he woke up.

A dull prodding sensation in his ribs jolted him awake. He awoke with a panic, terrified that the bears had gotten to him.

A young face, roughly the same age as his own stared back at him. The hair was shocking gray, and they eyes were dark. But, his smile was kind and new, yet seemingly familiar.They reminded of someone but he didn't know who.

" You're all by yourself out here. Why? " asked the boy plopping down next to him.

" My Dad didn't want me anymore, so I left. " said Naruto , his brows furrowing.

"My Dad too... He was always hounding me on " the_ Laws of the Shinobi" ... _mutured the boy wistfully.

" Hey at least you had someone to hound you on something. Sasuke moves in and I'm out. I don't get it I mean I was there first, and he's my Daddy! He just turned away when I needed him the most... He doesn't even believe me anymore when I tell him things. " Said Naruto his hands clenching into fists.

" What do you mean?" asked the boy, his face interested.

" Okay, this kid Sasuke, right? His brother -" Naruto paused when he realized what he was about to say. He'd lost his Dad, and so had Sasuke... Sasuke'd lost everyone. " His brother killed his whole family. All except him." whispered Naruto.

"Wow. That happens though, best you can do is move on. So your Dad took him in? " Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, and ever since then it's been about "Sasuke this and Sasuke that"... But I guess he deserves my Dad more. I mean he lost everybody..." Naruto gave an audible sniff.

"Aw, Naruto..." sighed the boy with remorse.

" How did you know my name?" said Naruto, his head snapping up, and turning to look at him.

" Um, what?" stuttered the boy. He had forgotten that he was in disguise and hadn't been paying attention.

" I said, how did you know my name?" said Naruto standing up angrily.

" I- you told it to me already!" he said nervously.

"No I didn't! " shot Naruto.

"YES YOU DID! " yelled the boy seizing his chance. If he knew Naruto at all they would get into a shouting match, and hopefully he would forget about it.

" NU-UH!"

"YUH-HUH!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"I DID NOOOT!!" yelled Naruto.

"YES YOU DID!" yelled the boy.

"AAAAAHHHH! " yelled Naruto launching himself at the boy.

They both fell to the ground, punching and kicking at each other. They rolled all over the ground, and then Naruto loaded his fist full of Chakra and rammed it into the boy's stomach .He froze when there was a puff of smoke, and the little boy disappeared, and a man's silhouette could be seen through the smoke. When the smoke cleared Naruto nearly fell over. He couldn't believe it. It couldn't be.

"Daddy?"

* * *

**Author's Note- So much for a suprise twist! I bet you guys saw this coming huh?? I hope you like it! It took me a loooong time to figure out how to write this! **

Thanks for reading!

Mellokai/Lauren


	18. Such Sappy Souls

Naruto sat on his Dad's lap as Kakashi hugged him, and held him tight. Such love as the Father Son bound should never be broken. Kakashi wrapped Naruto's favorite blanket around them that night, and asked Naruto if he would like to hear a story.

Naruto small as he might be, understood that whatever story this may be, it was coming from the heart, and that he should just shut up and listen to his Daddy. He hadn't told him a story in a long time, and he was itching to here his Father's voice unravel the mystery of each story.

" Once upon a time there was a little boy..." Naruto listened, as his Father told of the little boy, and how his father would go out on missions leaving him alone most of the time. And how one day the father came home, and locked himself inside his room. The little boy heard the rumors floating about the town, of how his father had abandoned his mission in order to save his comrades. Of how the father killed himself after a while, do to the scorn of the town, for abandoning such an important mission for the lives of his teammates. And then how he'd walked in the dead body. Naruto's body grew tired as he listened to his father's story, and his eyes were closing when he felt the rain. A fuzzy thought in the back of his mind told him that it couldn't rain inside his Daddy's house, but he just snuggled closer to his Daddy. Being nine was hard work. Even as old as he was, he was still rather small.

But when the strange rain persisted slowly but surely he realized his Daddy was shaking. He looked up at his Daddy's face, and his eyes widened as he saw for the first time his Daddy crying.

"What's wrong Daddy?" As soon as the words had left his mouth he put two and two together. His father was the little boy... Naruto wrapped his arms around him. "Its okay Daddy. You've got a new Daddy , ya know? old oji-san loves you, and you don't ever tell him back. You lost one Dad, but you got another one... " Kakashi wrapped his arms Naruto.

"Yes, I do Naruto..." Whispered Kakashi, his breath ruffling Naruto's hair ever so slightly.

Sleep was inevitable. It crept into the moment, sealing in its memory, and locking it away in the subconscious. They're eyes closed, and the father and son slept. Slept away the anger, and the sadness they'd felt in the past.

Some time that night, the door crept open and Sasuke tiptoed over to the bed, and when he saw that they indeed were sleeping, he turned to leave again. But a small hand caught him on the shoulder. He turned around and almost smiled when Naruto groggily pointed to the spot next to Kakashi, where the pillows were. Sasuke slowly climbed up onto the bed, and then smiled at Naruto , unsure if he had seen it. He had never meant for it too have gone this far, with Naruto, and him running away. He had had a father, but not one that openly loved him. He had gotten too used to it, and had almost forgotten that he was Naruto's Dad. He had never really been good at sharing, but if it meant he had people to love him, he could work on it.He pulled Kakashi's arm around him, and snuggled up against him. He had been thinking, and maybe things could be different now.

Naruto had seen the smile, and decided that , in the foggy tired state of mind he was in, Sasuke looked like he could use that second chance Gai had long ago told him everyone deserved. He and Sasuke soon fell asleep again, neither worried about thing.

* * *

When Kakashi didn't meet him for breakfast with Naruto , Sarutobi walked the long road to Kakashi's house, his wise mind knowing they were still sleeping. He knew that for a fact. Kakashi slept better on an easy conscience.

He opened the front door with the spare key he had received from Gai weeks ago. He slipped inside, and closed the door silently behind him. He cursed under his breath when he tripped over one of Sasuke's toys. Or was it Naruto's? He couldn't keep track any more. He silently moved through the house, his honed senses pointing him in the direction of Naruto's room. The door stood slightly ajar, the darkness of the room spreading out into the hall, the sound of soft snores sifted through the silence.

Naruto was curled up on Kakashi's lap, his head resting against Kakashi's shoulder, and Sasuke to Naruto's left, his head pressed against Kakashi's chest with Kakashi's arm draped rather lazily over his new son's shoulders. Sarutobi smiled the smile that only a grandfather can. Full of love and yet tainted with the hidden mischievous ways of the old man.

He whipped out a digital camera and then paused when he realized he couldn't turn it on. He worked that thing over for almost ten minutes, trying to figure out how to turn it on ,when all of the sudden he accidently turned the dial, and with a bright flash the camera went off, and captured a moment in time. A presumably funny moment! One the rectangular screen on the back of the camera, Sarutobi's face was frozen in a hilarious shocked and confused state, the hair wild, and the face crazy.

He sighed, and then aimed the camera in Kakash's and the kids' general direction, and he pushed the little circle button as Hasacotchi had shown him. His new Hokage assistant was a technology freak, and he had many complex things he did with technology in his fighting style. Damn things worked like magic for him, and Sarutobi could not figure how to work them, or even which one did which.

He took a couple more pictures, then threw the blanket back over them. It must've slipped off at some point during the night. He smiled to himself, as if to confirm his happiness to himself. He would always moan about how he was getting to old for it, and how that they'd be the death of him, but he truly loved it. Heck, he lived for it! This was tied with Hokage for first, on his priority list. Sarutobi let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, and turned to leave.

"Thanks... Oyaji." murmured Kakashi in his sleep. Even in his dreams it seemed he was hesitant .

"Doo itasshimashite musuko..." Whispered Sarutobi. " You're welcome, my son."

OoOoOoOoO

The sun shone high in the sky, and yet they slumbered on . Around one 'o' clock , Naruto rolled rather ungracefully off Kakashi's lap, flopped onto the bed, then bounced off onto the floor. He smacked the back of his head off one of his firetrucks, and whimpered. Kakashi sat up, and then laughed. Naruto had managed to pull the blanket with him, and he was completely twisted up in it. Sasuke gave a shy laugh, and then burst into a fit of giggles. Naruto, looked down and joined in. He had to admit he did look pretty funny. The laughter erupted to another level, and Kakashi keeled over to one side, his body shaking the bed and causing it to tremble.

After a while the laughter died down, and everyone realized how hungry they were.

" Daddy, can we go eat at Itaraku's? I haven't had ramen in forever!"

Sasuke opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it. If this was going to work he was going to have to make sacrifices. So why not start now? It was just like training. You had to work at it. So Sasuke said nothing of it as he got dressed with Naruto and Sasuke, but he focused on the fact that everyone was happy again. He was the happiest he had been in a long time. Maybe even before Itachi had... He pushed the thought from his mind, and then laughed when Naruto made a silly face in the mirror to see if his teeth were clean after he'd brushed them. Things were going to be good. They were going to be just fine.

**Author's Note- You guys said the last chapter was too short, so I tried to stretch it out the best I could. I hope you liked it! Sorry if it is a little slow. I was in a rut that I needed to get out of with this portion of the story, and now I am free to do as I wish with the story! So i hope you enjoyed it!**


	19. Getting Older

_**Author's Note- I apologize to everyone, I am really truly sorry I never updated this further! I just lost interest, and I didn't know how to pick it back up again. I am truly sorry for that, and I apologize! Forgive me? Well, so let me give you a little recap, because it's been nearly a year. **_

_**Kakashi is getting over the fact that he lost his father, and that he may not have been the honorable man that he always thought he was. Also, he realizes that Sarutobi is like another father to him, and he need to acknowledge it. **_

_**Naruto realizes that sometimes you have to share attention and love, because sometimes other people need it more than you. Sasuke isn't the attention thief that he finds him to be, but really just a sad little boy looking for love. **_

_  
**Sasuke learns that you can't always have all the attention that you want, no matter how sad and dysfunctional your life is because it can push away the people that you love the everyone learns that life for them can be great and work out just fine, if they work at it. NOW! Let's see where I start this out again! :D **_

_**I also added my own character- Lauren. Upon hearing a review, I decided to change it to a more Japanese name. It is now Kai, which Pance suggested. It is derived of my username, though it actually has relevance as a Japanese word- it means water, ocean, and those relateable things. :)  
**_

* * *

"Okay, so kids, today you're going to get put into teams. Mind you, you're still too young to form you Genin teams, but this is a test group to see how well you work together. According to this, I will shuffle you each week. If certain people work together, I will try to keep them together. If I see fit, people may switch within a day. Also, this year, we are going to have squads sizes of four, as there are so many of you." Smiled Iruka Sensei.

"But, it's the first day of school!" Burst a short girl of ten.**[THAT'S ME! I'm joining the story, just for shits and giggles. :)]  
**

"Ah, yes, Kai, but it's an important day. You see, the sooner we figure out what your abilities are, the sooner we can get you into groups." Smiled Iruka. Kai nodded shyly, and ducked lower in her seat. ( **I used to be extremely shy, but then along came ADHD and I broke out of that. :) Wait till I hit twelve and thirteen, lol. ) **She was short for her age, so this wasn't a hard task.

Naruto and Sasuke high-five each other under the table that is meant to be a were going to be on a team together at some point, and seeing as they'd trained for most of their life together, they didn't need to worry about not knowing the others intentions in a fight. They were so well tuned in fact that it was almost scary that they knew how to pop in a fight right where they would need to be without warning from the other.

Sasuke was still more serious than Naruto, but he was happier than he'd been before when the tragedy had just occurred. His hair was still as long as it has always been, but Naruto's was its usual shorter and messier version.

Sakura eyed Sasuke constantly, and gave Naruto the occasional warm smile. They were definitely the two studs of their class- but they didn't acknowledge it at all. They were easily approachable, and much adored by everyone. They were the kind of warm kids who would invite everyone for birthday parties, and the sappy kind that stuck up for the nerds and weird people. Sakura wasn't fan-girl ga-ga over Sasuke, but she did like him very much.

"Alright, I am going to announce teams here, very shortly. Everyone please take your seats and put everything away. For practice teams you'll be in teams of three, except for the first one." Called out Iruka distractedly, making marks on his paper sheets. Naruto glanced over to Sasuke, wondering if they would be on the same team. He didn't really want to be on a team opposite of Sasuke, because he was secretly scared that Sasuke would outshine him.

There was a great scurrying of motion as everyone sat down and shoved their books into the pits of the table. The top sections of the table flipped open to reveal space for books and such other items. The desks themselves were a solidly colored light wood, but the insides were lighter, though felt just as smooth as on the stained side of the thick wood.

Sasuke tended to be better at a lot of things than him, but Naruto tried not to let it get to him. There would always be that jealousy though, that ned to be better than his brother who so obviously got everything easily. Okay, so maybe he _didn't_ get things easily, but everything was harder for Naruto. He still had trouble controlling his chakra during many jutsus, and yet Sasuke made it look so simple. Of course, that was the reason Naruto did so well- Sasuke pushed him to do better. Under the training of their father, they were rapidly becoming great ninja.

"Okay, so, these are _just_ test teams, so don't worry if you don't like who your with- it's only for a week." Iruka waited for them all to nod and then he carried on, "Okay, first team. Neji, Kiba, and Ino, and Sakura."

There was a collaborate groan of disbelief between the three of them, and only when they quieted did Iruka carry on." Team two: Sasuke, TenTen,and Shikamaru."

Naruto moaned loudly- so loudly in fact that everyone turned to look at him in surprise. Naruto grimaced behind his mask, and then sighed. Dropping his head to the desk he glared at Iruka, who shrugged because he knew it was for the best to see what Naruto's and Sasuke's individual talents were.

"Third Team: Hinata, Naruto, and Shino." Naruto smacked his head off the desks a few times to openly display his displeasure.

Iruka Sensei called out to more teams, and then the last one.

"Last team is.... Kai, Choji, and Rock Lee." The quiet girl beamed, because she was on a team. There were so disgruntled shouts of 'Hey! What about me!?'

"Now, I understand that there are more of you than that, but you need to bear with me. You are not ready to be on even a practice team. Work on your skills and you will find yourself on a team." Sighed Iruka Sensei wearily."Now! If you have been called for a team, I want you to go outside to the practice your teamwork until I get out there."

"How do we practice teamwork? We don't have an assignment!" Snapped Sasuke irritably.

"Sasuke... Just _talk _to each other, get to be friends, you know?" Sighed Iruka exasperatedly. "Alright, the rest of you will have a substitute until I get back."

Naruto and Sasuke irritably pushed back their chair and stomped out to the training field, and promptly started talking to people. They might be mad, but if making friends was their mission they sure as hell would do it!

Kai plopped down on the ground next to her teammates. They were sort of friends all ready, and conversation came easy. Luckily for her, she had gotten the goofy kids. She wasn't necessarily a goof, but she was a bit random. Rock Lee launched onto his routine about the fires of youth, and then started adding stuff in about the importance of friend ship, love, sunsets, and every gooshy thing ninja's wanted but didn't neccisarily need- though he claimed them to be a need. Kai was one of the few who would listen and talk about that kind of stuff with him.

"Naruto!" She shouted, upon seeing his face. "You forgot your ninja gloves!" She jumped up and ran over, and with a smile she handed them over quickly. She waited only a second for his thanks before impatiently scurrying off to her friends when they shouted for her to come- Rock Lee had kicked a whole clear through a tree. Naruto yelled a thanks after her anyway, smiling when she waved and gave him a thumbs. He then slipped on his fingerless gloves, and stretched and flexed his fingers to assure his gloves were on properly.

Naruto let out a gurgled cry of surprise when Sasuke pulled him over to where a group of girls were standing and starting chatting them up promptly. They were pretty popular, despite their genuine friendliness. The more girls they had drooling over them the better- they would look like much better athletes and ninjas if everyone sucked.

They didn't really want to make others look bad, but they were kids- what did they have to worry about? Morals weren't written in concrete for them, at least not for and Sasuke knew better than to tell their father of their half-hearted plans- they weren't trying hard to outshine everyone else, but just allowing it to barely happen. Even though they hated girls drooling over them, they couldn't look bad- not with their father as great at his skills as he was. Sasuke was finally comfortable calling Kakashi 'Father', though he much preferred Papa and Daddy. He had called his own father 'Father'.

As good as Naruto was at his ninja skills, he was still clumsy and goofy. Iruka was looking after him as best he could, but they all knew that the Kyubbi sealed inside him would make his tasks harder, and different as well as possibly more difficult to manage.

"Alright! First off, I want you to separate into teams and practice throwing your kunai. _Don't_ start yelling and shouting- I have kunai for all of you!" Iruka smiled to himself as the children crowded around him, gathering their kunai. "Kiba! Be careful with those- they're not toys!" Kiba raised a lazy hand to acknowledge that he had heard him, and continued to hoarse around with his kunai anyway.

Ino and her team got their materials first, and they ran off victoriously to the 'best' target. Naruto's team was next, and then Sasuke's whooped when he got his kunai, and Iruka promptly snatched them back, explaining to him that he wouldn't get to participate in the exercise and would fail if he could not be responsible with his weapons. Naruto nodded slowly, and then promptly took off running again with his kunai. Iruka sighed in exasperation and shrugged. Naruto would figure out sooner or later to be careful with his weapons.

Rock Lee's team was last, but none of them minded. As long as they were in the game. Kai and Rock Lee high fived, and Kai laughed when Rock Lee started off on another rant about the fires of youthful burning strongly in her soul.

Ino's aim was pretty good, for a ten year old, but it was rather weak in reference to where it would be in two or three years when they tried to beat Ino, but her efforts only further worsened her otherwise amiable skills. Neji, of course, aimed perfectly even in his young age. Kiba did averagely- which consisted of flailing his arms and wildly missing the target. He laughed at his own mistakes, and Neji joined, in though his laugh was more scornful than anything. He might have been friends with Naruto, but Naruto hadn't gotten through to him yet.

Sasuke did wonderful, only barely missing the rings near the center and Tenten did even better than Sasuke. Shikamaru only threw one, landing it on the outskirts of the target before plopping down to admire the clouds. Iruka Sensei came over every once in a while and would give him a good kick in the side to get him going again. Shikamaru would thrw again until Iruka walked away or took his eyes off him and then promptly plop himself down.

Naruto did fairly well, only missing the target completely twice. But, to his credit, he did land many of them in the circles near the middle of the rings, though not quite the center. Shino's aim was average, minus the flailing on Kiba's half. He threw them like darts though, which was improper did her best, which was better than Naruto and not quite as good as Shino. Naruto beamed at her and she smiled back, her shyness forgotten for a moment. She giggled every time he made a goofy face while he threw, which resulted in him making an effort to contort his face into the silliest forms he could. After a while Shino stalked off to another target, sick of their childishness.

Rock Lee to aim and flung his Kunais carefully, whereas Kai wung them. She'd throw them from whatever angle she was in, twisting her arm in a circle by rotating her forearm towards her chest and flicking her wrist to release the weapon. She missed wildly many times, but got a few good hits. Choji did as one would expect of Choji- he ate half the time and worked half the time.

"Alright, class." Iruka Sensei sighed. "Lunch time. Go get some lunch, and then we'll work on shuriken when you get back."

* * *

That was forever ago, it seemed. That year had passed, and they were nearing the beginning of their next year. Naruto would be eleven in October, on the same day as Kai. They had exchanged gifts last year, and become friends. Hinata came over all the time, too, and Neji and Sakura as well. Shikamaru and the others came over every once in a while, but they weren't as good a friends with Naruto and Sasuke as the girls and Neji.

In hanging out with the boys, Sakura and Hinata were not so head over heels in love with them to the point of a hindrance. Sasuke did indeed like Sakura, but wouldn't admit it. And so they resolved to live their queer dance of a flirt-ship. Sakura had cut her hair short in an effort to solidify the fact that she didn't care to be a fan girl for Sasuke anymore- he learned that _that_ was one of his biggest pet peeves.

Naruto and Kai were great friends, and that was all. But him and Hinata, well that... that was another story. They _had_ been best friends since they were little, but Kakashi- who was the only one to pay attention to these sorts of things-knew something wonderful was brewing between them. Naruto would sometimes stare at her when she wasn't paying attention, and he had a constipated look on his face that Kakashi knew to mean Naruto was thinking very hard about something.

"Quick! Hurry! They're going to get us if we don't hurry!" Shouted Kai, imagining the an enemy chasing them. chasing them and trying to kill them. The little kids jumped up after her and ran screaming their heads off. Kakashi laughed and turned back to his reading.

"Come on, Whisk- I bet you can't catch me!" Yelled Neji to Naruto. Kakashi had almost forgotten about that nickname.

Naruto would do fine, at least he hoped. He wondered what would happen when Naruto found out that he wasn't a strong ninja because of his training, but partially due to the fact that the nine tailed fox was sealed inside his stomach. That night he saved Hinata hadn't been a fluke. And lately Naruto had been improving rapidly- a little _too_ rapidly for it to be knew that Sasuke pushed him to be better, but still.... One had to wonder.

**Author's Note- So yes, it's been a long time. I hope you like it! Reviews inspire me! :D **

**More coming soon- I swear. I left a little cliff hanger to keep you interested, lol. I am sorry if there are any inconsistancies- it's been such a long time. :P **

**Lauren****/Mello_Kai_**


	20. ChakraOverload May Lead to Painted Nails

**Author's Note: I've decided to use part of my username as my name, seeing as** **Lauren** **didn't really mesh well with the story. :) It is now- Kai! **

"Naruto... You're an idiot, you know that?" Sighed Sasuke. "Now-try again!"

Naruto sighed heavily, swallowing the growing lump of self-pity in his throat. He felt like he was _never _going to get it right!

He set his hands in the seal, and the lowered his head, and set his jaw. "Clone Jutsu!" His chakra circled around and cut jaggedly through the center. It rushed faster as he pushed more of his chakra into the jutsu and then growled angrily when nothing happened. His growl let up when a two clones plopped to the ground. But of course, they were dead. What good were dead clones?!

Naruto angrily threw himself on the ground, punching it a couple times before drawing his knees into his chest and then crossing his arms over his knees. He lowered his head to his arms, sighing out a shaky breath of frustration. "I'm never going to get it right! I'm not going to pass- and you're to going to get to be a ninja and I won't!"

"Naruto, don't worry! You'll get it- you just need to learn to control your chakra levels. If they're dead, it means you're probably not putting enough chakra into it, right?"

Kakashi, who had been watching them practice while reading his book, looked up.

"Okay." Naruto got up and sighed, pressing his hands together.

"What did you tell him to do, again?" Asked Kakashi quickly.

"Well, his clones are dead, so I told him to use more chakr-"

"Clone Jutsu!" "_**No, Naruto!**_ " Shouted Kakashi and Naruto at the same time.

Naruto's eyes widened as the massive amounts of extra chakra imploded in on themselves, and then exploded outward, thrusting him backwards and into the air. Naruto yelped in surprise as he smashed through a tree and then landed on his shoulders heavily. He flipped over once and then crashed to the ground again, where he didn't move.

Kakashi was at his side in a flash, leaving a confused and scared Sasuke to sit alone in the huge circle in the ground. His face was scratched, and his skin and hair was covered in a dusting of dirt and grime. The ground beneath his feet was scorched and burnt from the power of Naruto's chakra; Sasuke glanced around him in awe and shock, his mind fuzzy and his body oddly woozy. There was a growing ache in his head- he had fallen at some point when Naruto's chakra had exploded.

"Naruto!" Kakashi cradled his son in his arms, his chest rising and falling in a nervous rhythm. "Naruto, can you hear me?"

"Uhn... Daddy...Owww..." Kakashi almost laughed out loud at the sound of Naruto talking. Kakashi hugged Naruto to him as tight as he could, blinking back worried tears. Naruto gasped into his father's shoulder, unable to breath."Daddy! Le... GO!"

Kakashi surprisedly loosened his grip and Naruto sorely gasped for breath, clutching his sides. "You trying to squish me to death?!" Gasped Naruto.

Kakashi laughed, and carried Naruto on his back over to where Sasuke now lay dazedly, staring into the sun. "It's so.... _round!_" Breathed Sasuke with a hint of a giggle.

"Oh-_kaaaaay._Looks like you two are going to get checked over." Sighed Kakashi. He grabbed his book off the ground and pocketed it, before helping Sasuke off the ground. Sasuke wobbled drunkenly, and Kakashi scowled."You're not making this easy, are you?"

"_You're _not making it easy, you... you... pervert!" Slurred Sasuke with a dry giggle. Kakashi rose a brow in surprise and confusion. He hoped Sasuke had a concussion- because this was getting very awkward.

Kakashi wondered absentmindedly if this was what Sasuke would act like when he was drunk. If _that _was the case, he would definitely be attending Sasuke's twenty-first birthday party.

* * *

"Oh my gawsh! Are you okay!?" Shouted Kai, running over to them and grabbing his bandaged hands. Naruto hissed in pain and Kai winced. "Shit! Sorry!"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Laughed Naruto sheepishly. "I was trying to do that stupid Clone Jutsu, and I screwed it up.

"Has Hinata come to see you?" Kai asked, looking around for her. "Ope. Never mind, I see her!" Kai smiled and rolled her eyes, before plopping down in a chair next to Naruto's bed. He sat cross legged on top of his colorful covers, and Sasuke lay on the top bunk sleeping.

Hinata was dozing in the large armchair by the TV, though she was turned so that she faced Naruto. "So, is _everyone _crashing here?" Asked Kai. Naruto nodded drowsily, and Kai smiled. "You mind if I.... hang out her then?"

Naruto shrugged and smiled. "Sounds fun, I guess."

"Ok,so... Here's the deal, we're going to do something fun!" Smiled Kai deviously. "Is Sasuke a heavy sleeper?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, he used to be jumpy, but now that he's used to living here, he's a pretty heavy he's got a concussion, so..."

Kai pulled her shoulder length, light, brown hair back into a pony tail and smiled wickedly. Her milk chocolate brown eyes glimmered mischievously.

"Hahaha! We're going to have fun!" Kai pulled her bag off the floor, and rummaged around in it. "You see? _This_ is why I always come prepared." She pulled out a number of items, and giggled. Naruto held back a guffaw, and snatched the items from her hands. They _were _going to have fun!

* * *

"AH!!!!!!!!! Naruto, you teme! I'll kill you!" Shouted Sasuke the next morning. He had woken to see his bright pink nails and toenails and had immediately set off to find he found the lower bunk to his bed empty, he ran downstairs.

"_Dad!" _Kakashi looked up from his bowl of cereal and dropped his spoon.

"Sasuke, I know you've been feeling kind of funny since you hurt your head, but if you're trying to tell me something...." Kakashi squinted, and then widened his eyes as if to make sense of what he was seeing.

"Naruto and Kai painted my nails!" Shouted Sasuke in retaliation.

"Oh,...So... _You_ did the rest?" Asked Kakashi skeptically, resting his head on his hand while he took the sight of Sasuke in.

"Wha-... Huh?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Have you _looked _in a mirror?" Kakashi asked, leaning forward in expectation.

Sasuke didn't answer, but rather turned on heel and marched off to the bathroom. "_Oh my gawd!!! Dad!" _Sasuke looked near tears by the time Kakashi got back to wear Sasuke was standing. He was in front of the mirror, viciously ripping hair bows from his head. "How could you let them do this!?"

"Hey, I got hit, too!" Remarked Kakashi defensively, flashing his bright, neon green fingernails. Sasuke bit back a smile and resolved to angrily wash his face.

"I can't believe they did that." Sasuke gasped angrily, water dripping from his lips. Kakashi shrugged.

He donned a fake, uberly homosexual voice: "You know, though- this green really sets off my eyes, don't you think?"

Sasuke snickered, and then scowled. "Shit, how do we get this stuff off?"

"Uh-oh." Kakashi looked at his son with worry in his eyes. Being that they lived in a household of only men, they had no nail polish remover. They would have to leave the house with their nail polish.

* * *

"You know, for a boy, you sure put nail polish on pretty well." Remarked Kai, hanging upside down to get a better view of Sasuke freaking out.

"Shut up. You put it on pretty messy for a _girl._" Retorted Naruto.

"Touche." Smiled Kai, easily bending back up to grab the branch and right herself.

"So, what now?" She asked, sitting cross legged on the branch.

"We run!" Shouted Naruto upon seeing his brother and father charge out of the house.

"I'm sorry I got you in trouble!" Shouted Kai, groaning as she grew tired.

"Come on! We can totally get away from them!" Cheered Naruto.

"You go ahead! I'm... tired!" Panted Kai dropping out of the trees. She seemed to disappear, but that was because Naruto was running so fast. "Hey, fellas! Looking for this?"

Naruto glanced back to see her pulling a bottle of something out of her bag. Sasuke smacked upside the head, but accepted the bottle. Kai smiled sheepishly, and then took of at a dead run. She disappeared in seconds, do to the fact that she had pushed all of her chakra into her legs.

Naruto was not sure what exactly had happened, but that stunt had sure brightened his day. He couldn't wait to pull of another one.

Then he realized they'd all forgotten about Hinata. Naruto raced back to see if she was okay, but she turned out to be still sleeping. Naruto's breath huffed out with an odd satisfaction and he covered her carefully but sloppily with his blanket. She'd know where to find him when she woke up.

**Author's Note- So! Your reviews DO fuel my inspiration! :D Also- I DO take criticism and fix my story! :D Ask Pance! :) Is the name change better? I hope so! :D **

**Lauren/ Mello_Kai_**


	21. Of Brothers, Ramen, and Women

* * *

"ARGH! OW! You fucking _asshole!_" Kai leaned against the tree she's been flung against, and growled. Naruto averted his eyes, not daring to look into them.

She had recently discovered her Kekkei Genkai, and it didn't involve hard work- at least not for the first stage anyway. Apparently, you weren't supposed to be able to master it to the second degree until you were fully grown, though there had been some exceptions. So far, Kai was not one of them.

Kai scowled, knowing he wouldn't willingly look into her eyes, but then she laughed. Naruto looked up, and screamed. Her fist, swirling with her chakra slammed into the side of his face. "Don't _ever_ threaten me, Naruto. Just keep in mind I _can_ kick your ass." Laughed Kai, helping him off the ground.

"I was just trying to help!" Groaned Naruto weakly, letting her pull him off the ground.

"Well... then I'm sorry. But that still hurt, ya know! You're lucky I don't bruise easily- then I'd be really pissed off." Joked Kai sheepishly. "So, uh... What do you want for your birthday?"

"I dunno. Maybe... A new set of Kunai? Man, I don't know..." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Me either. I was thinking of getting a non ninja present. Oh well. Maybe I'll get some new gear. Oh, hey Hinata!" Kai energetically waved Hinata over and moments later Hinata had fallen into step with them.

"Hey girlie, what's up?" Smiled Kai.

"Um.... I-I... My f-father is mad at me. I screwed up all d-day today in p-practice." Hinata lowered her head and sighed shakily.

"Oh don't worry about it. That's what practice is for. Better to screw up in practice, rather than in battle. Trust me- he'd be more mad if you died. So... Stick with it." Kai patted her lightly on the back and then whooped. "I kicked Naruto's butt today! He thought I needed better hand to hand combat, but I showed him! But... I do need to work on my aim-"

"Yeah! You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, your aim is so bad!" Snickered Naruto, punching her playfully on the shoulder. Kai rolled her eyes and glared at him, and Naruto laughed playfully as he took off.

"Hinata, would you-...?"

"I-I'd... love to!" Hinata smiled shyly, and Kai laughed.

"You're dead, Naruto!" They both took off running after him, plotting their revenge as they ran.

* * *

"Ok, Naruto, it's you turn. You know you need to practice this." Iruka Sensei sighed, gesturing for Naruto to carry on.

Naruto sighed, and put his hands together. "C-Clone Jutsu!" Naruto rained in his chakra as best he could, something his father had urged him to try. The charka swirled around him and Naruto closed his eyes. A lone clone stared at him, the dark rings under its eyes sickly and disturbing. It's eyes however were bright red, and his skin tinted faintly orangish brown.

Everyone in the classroom applauded him in his timid attempt- for the past month the only beings he could create were dead and useless. Even if this one was sickly, it was better than dead. Iruka Sensei clapped Naruto proudly on the back, and smiled. "You're almost there, Naruto!"

"Sasuke, you're up..." Iruka Sensei beckoned Sasuke forward and Naruto wandered back to his desk.

Naruto sighed, contentedly proud of himself. Mizuki beamed at him from the corner, and Naruto smiled back.

Mizuki was helping Iruka teach for the day, and the next time that he would come to class would mean the day of testing. The day of testing wasn't too far off, either. Naruto was very nervous, and unsure of whether or not he had good enough chakra control to perform the task efficiently.

"Alright, Sasuke. Very good!" Naruto bristled at his brother's praise, and sunk a little lower into his seat. Sasuke plopped down next to him, and cooly leaned his chair back and feigned sleepiness.

Naruto angrily got up from his chair, slamming it back into the desk and stalking off. Sasuke's eyes jerked open, and the jolt of Naruto's chair slamming into the table knocked him off balance. Naruto was deliciously proud of the surprised expression on Sasuke's face as he landed unceremoniously on the floor, then his stomach tightened again when a bunch of girls rushed to help him up. Hinata followed close behind him, beckoning to Kai to follow her.

"What's wrong, Naruto-_kun._" Hinata accentuated the 'kun', hoping to make Naruto feel had chased him all the way to the trees near the edge of the training forest.

"I just... Gah! I get so mad sometimes! I do something good and _he_ has to come in and do something better! It's just not fair!" Naruto growled, pulling his legs up onto the branch of the tree he'd escaped to. He crossed his arms over his legs and set his chin on them, staring away from Hinata and Kai, a determined yet somehow pitiful expression riddling his features.

"Naruto..." Kai startde to talk, and even though she was notorious for her advice, she simply sighed and let Hinata take over. "I don't know Naruto, but someday you'll get it..."

Hinata sighed softly, and resolved to wrap her arm around his shoulders. Naruto jumped under her friendly touch, and then sighed. Hinata glanced frantically at Kai, though kept her body relaxed. Kai confusedly motioned with her hands for an explanation, and then her mouth formed a round 'o' of recognition when she realized Hinata was uncomfortable touching Naruto in such a manner.

"Hey, uh, Naruto? How about I buy you some ramen, huh?" Kai smiled hopefully, her hidden fists clenching nervously.

Naruto nodded slowly, and Kai beamed. "Here, Hinata. I have to go- my mom needs me to babysit tonight. Here's the money... it's enough for two bowls each. Have fun!"

And like that Kai was off before either of them knew what had happened. "Did she just..."

"Bail on us?" Offered Naruto with a slow smile. "Leave it to her."

Kai wasn't one for bailing on people, but the moment demanded it. She could see they needed '_alone_' time. She giggled happily to herself as she ran the distance were going to be a cute couple- even if it took them forever to realize that they were meant for each other.

* * *

Sasuke wondered where on earth his brother had gone, and what the hell his problem was. He had practically blown up on him out of nowhere! Sasuke headed to the place where he knew he would find him- Itchiraku's ramen stand. And there he was, of course.

Sasuke bristled at the sight of Hinata leaning tiredly towards Naruto. Naruto smiled brightly at her, and flicked a ramen noodle at her. Hinata giggled and then rubbed a noodle in his face, and Naruto sputtered, the hot broth burning his skin.

Sasuke couldn't identify the feeling in the pit of his stomach, but it felt like... dread? Why would he feel dread- his brother was happy, and with a girl that Sasuke knew had had the hots for him since they were little. Sasuke shoved the feeling away, knowing it wasn't right.

He'd never liked her, and he probably never would, but it was the fact that for once, Naruto had something he didn't. A girl to care about. Sure, Sasuke had many girls crowing after him, but he didn't really like any of them. Sakura was okay... but... he just wasn't into her like that. He wondered absently if maybe dating Hinata wasn't such a bad idea. Then he scowled. There wasn't a chance in hell that they'd work out. Besides, he liked his girls to be outspoken- but to a certain extent.

Besides- wasn't dating someone who obviously liked your brother wrong? As far as his father had taught him, it was most definitely against the rules. His father had told him that that sort of thing was what caused many fights between brothers and friends- even if the brother doesn't know he likes the girl when said first brother dates her. Rules concerning woman were so hard to understand!

But, since when had he ever done anything according to the rules? He kind of liked the idea of being a bad boy, but the fact that it made you unapproachable to certain other people, he couldn't risk it. He wanted to protect his family- not destroy it. But what about a family of his own? As much as he was doubting that he didn't have just a momentary crush on her, he couldn't betray his brother. It would be like he was following in Itachi's footsteps.

**Author's Note- So, I know, it's been a few days, but I had to put this together. I'm sorry about throwing Kai- ME- in there so much, but what can I say- I LOVE me! :D Also- I am NOT a shipper of Sasuke and Hinata, but it's just a momentary thing. :) Sasuke is learning about women- lol. :) And my vision of NARUHINA! :D YAY! Also, there will be future romanticism between most characters! :D Who do you think Kai should be pair up with? :P Just wondering. :) **

**P.S.- If you would like your own character- only for a brief period of time, maybe one chapter- then please give me a description of body size, eyes- etc. :) ALSO don't forget personality! :D I'm going to use you for chunin exams. Please include any Kekke Genkai, or abilities, as well as your Territory Loyalty- you know, leaf, wind- etc. :) **

**Lauren/MelloKAI  
**

*Yawn* Bed is on my mind..... Thank goodness tomorrow is Wednesday, my "day off." :D


	22. Enter Kyuubi

**A/N: BEWARE! EXTREMELY LONG CHAPTER! Lol. :) **

"Naruto! It's your turn, little man. " Smiled Mizuki sensei encouragingly. Naruto scowled as he stepped forward, his fear like a brick in his stomach.

His hands took the formation, and he let out a low, calming breath. He had been working as hard as he could for the past few weeks, and with Hinata's help he had gotten up to two clones- and they were only _partially _under the weather. Naruto has been outside beforehand exerting as much of his chakra as he could, so that he could have easier control over the little chakra he had.

But, of course, he ended up being called near the very end when his chakra had almost refilled back to normal. He knew it wasn't normal to have so much chakra, but he said nothing of it. After the tests were through, the results of final teams would be posted the next day- or rather announced by Iruka the next day.

"Clone Jutsu." It was barely a whisper, the soft words leaving his mouth in an unhurried breath of concentration. His chakra sluggishly, at least it seemed to him, began to circle around him, and he closed his eyes. There was a soft bang and smoke filled the room for a few moments.

"Yes!" Shouted Naruto and his friends. Three clones! Granted they were sickly looking- each of the clones was its' own pale shade of death, and the eyes were red with the watery sick they displayed. Naruto smiled to Iruka, and Mizuki smiled gleefully, though Iruka only smiled sadly.

"Naruto... They aren't good enough. I mean, sure- you exceeded exceptionally in the other aspects of the test... but... Can you at least produce me two semi useful clones?" Iruka didn't really want to give Naruto the chance- no one else had needed two produce only two clones, and it was highly unfair. He was a bit miffed that he had to give the little guy a second chance he didn't deserve, but... he couldn't be sure why. He shoved the thoughts of dislike from his mind and focused on being nice to the little brat.

"I- I can try!" Smiled Naruto nervously. He clasped his hands together, and then murmured 'Clone Jutsu'. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sounds of Iruka and Mizuki to confirm his triumph before opening his eyes. Othe than those two, the room was empty.

The clones were with good form, and were obviously as fit as Naruto. Iruka smiled, announcing proudly that Naruto had passed. Iruka smiled boldly, though Naruto thought that for just a second he saw Mizuki's face fall. But when he looked again, the smile was back, broader than ever."Go Naruto!"Cheered Mizuki.

Naruto ran out of the room, his arms high over his head. "I made it!"

Hinata and Kai high-fived him, and Sasuke gave his brother a hug. Naruto squirmed out of his grip, and then threw his arms triumphantly up into the air. "I'm going to be the best ninja you guys have ever seen!"

* * *

Naruto strolled idly along the ground of the forest, staring at nothing in particular. He could sense that someone else was there, but he couldn't be sure for certain.

Naruto wandered around, drifting back to the tree where he had hidden from his father as a child. He had run away, and in an effort to voice his feelings of being neglected. His father had in the end come and found him, and the bad feelings between them had been calmed, and all was fine again.

Naruto was deep in thought, staring at the hollowed out tree when he heard his voice called out by what sounded like Iruka."Sensei?"

"Hey, Naruto..." Iruka sensei looked at the ground for a moment, only looking up when Mizuki sensei plopped down next to him.

"Hey, little guy." Smiled Mizuki sadly."We've got some bad news..."

"You can't be a ninja..." Spoke Iruka. He cast his face downward, trying not to take in Naruto's panicked face.

"B-but I passed! You said I did!" Stuttered Naruto with disbelief, pointing angrily at Iruka.

"I know... But.. Apparently you _do _have to have three clones." Offered Iruka remorsefully.

"Sorry, Naruto." Mizuki rose an apologetic brow, and sank to the ground, but only after angrily punching a hole in the side of the hollowed out tree.

When he finally looked up, Iruka was gone but Mizuki was still there. "What do you want?" He asked bitterly.

"To help. Don't you want to be a ninja, Naruto?" Naruto's eyes widened, and he looked up at Mizuki with a new hope in his eyes.

"You'd do that?"

"Of course. Look, Iruka Sensei wants you to be tough, but that can never happen if he goes easy on you. The thing I can show you... well it's a secret.." Mizuki faltered. "But, this is going to be very hard- so you have to do exactly as I say, okay?"

Naruto nodded eagerly, unable to contain his excitement. If this was a chance to be a ninja, he was definitely going to go for it.

* * *

**Hours Later**

* * *

BANG BANG BANG! The frantic knocking on Iruka's door woke him from his frightful dreams, though he had no idea who it could be at such a late hour.

"I'm coming already! Hold your damn horses..." Iruka rolled out of bed, untwisting the shirt that tried to wind around his ribs and squeeze him to yanked open the door, greeting his guest with a harsh- "What the _hell _could you possibly need?"

"The Hokage needs to see you right now! It's Naruto- he's stolen the Sacred Scroll!" Mizuki's eyes were wide with believable panic,and Iruka immediately straightened, the fatigue leaving him.

"You mean the Scroll of Sealing? _No!_" Iruka's eyes widened, and his heart beat shot up."Why the hell would he need he _that_!? He's passed for Pete's sake!"

"I don't know. Maybe that wasn't enough for him." Later, looking back on his conversation with Mizuki, Iruka only had one thing to say: Such a good lie...

* * *

"Alright... Let's see. The first one is... Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto sat on the ground, one leg outstretched with the huge scroll set upon it so that he could better read it. "Gah! Not this again- it's my worst jutsu!" Naruto slapped a defeated hand to his head.

But nevertheless, he wasn't about to give up. He _was _going to become a ninja, afterall.

* * *

"Lord Hokage- this isn't just a prank- it's a serious crime!" A large, burly looking ninja offered, his fist clenched angrily.

"That scroll contains secrets that were sealed by the _first_ Hokage- secrets known only to _our_ vilage!" A thin, one eyed ninja pressed worriedly.

"If that scroll falls into the wrong hands- they could destroy our entire way of life." Another voice rang out. There was a small group clustered around Sarutobi. Sarutobi had no idea _what _to think of the whole situation. But the village came first, then family. And if Naruto was going to stand in the way of the village.... It would be painful but it was what had to be done.

"Alright... Bring Naruto here at _once!_" Sarutobi pointed, signaling for them to fetch Naruto.

* * *

'_Where would he go?'_ Thought Iruka, panting heavily. He looked around, scouting for him from the rooftop he was on, only to find no sign of him.

Iruka scowled, and tightened his headband. _'Why would _he_ of all people steal the scroll? So what if he's got the nine-tailed fox... That's just not something Naruto would do... is it?'

* * *

'Now that I told everyone what Naruto did, I can eliminate him- and they'll be glad he's gone!' _Thought Mizuki, the wild happiness of these events showing in his eyes as he ninja ran to where he knew where Naruto was._  
_

He had to hurry, for Sarutobi had contacted Kakashi as well, but that was good and fine. Perhaps it would do good to Kakashi- the man was slipping. He was softening up like an old fruit- he needed to harden his shell again, for he was going to go bad as a ninja if he softened so much. At least, that was Mizuki's opinion. But, then what did it matter to him what happened to the Leaf Village shinobi? He was going to be better than them all! _'Of course I'll be better... I'm going to keep the scroll for myself!'

* * *

_

Naruto panted heavily, the heavy burden of the large scroll strapped tightly to his back. He was sitting on the ground, leaning against the one leg that he had propped up. His breath came in heavy spurts, and his tired graze stared at the hand propping him up.

A shadow wavered over him, and he looked up to see Iruka Sensei. "It's all over!" Iruka laughed sadistically, and then cocked his head slightly at the sound of Naruto's sheepish laughter. '_What the...'_

_"_Caught me already, huh Sensei? You're quick sensei! I only had time to learn one technique." Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, and Iruka screwed his face up in clear confusion.

'_He's been out here practicing... I can tell how hard he's been working!'_

"Listen, Iruka Sensei! I'm going to show you this jutsu, and you're going to let me pass, and then everything will be okay! That's how it works, isn't it?Anyone who learns a jutsu from this scroll passes?"

"_Huh?!_ Where'd ya get _that_ idea?" Iruka's anger was quickly diminishing.

"Mizuki Sensei told me about it! He told me where to find the scroll, and... this... place..." Naruto trailed off, seeming to begin to understand that Iruka had forgotten. Or rather, that Mizuki had not told him.

'_Mizuki!?' _Iruka turned, the sound of flying weapons ringing out in his ear. "Look out!" He thrust his hand into Naruto's chest, sending him flying out of harms way. A kunai stuck out of his thigh, and some were merely tangled in his clothing.

"So- you found my _hideaway._" Taunted Mizuki.

"So that's the way it is, huh?" Spoke Iruka, his tone even and steady, though his left eye was squinted shut with pain. "I should've known!"

Mizuki leaned against the tree, resting in a squat on the enormous branch connected to it."Naruto! Give me the scroll! _Now!_"

"Wait a minute..." Naruto may have been a tough little trooper, but sometimes he wasn't the brightest bulb in the light socket, if you catch the drift. He looked back and forth from Mizuki to Iruka, and then back to Mizuki. "What going on here-!?"

Iruka took a few deep breaths before wrenching the retched Kunai from his leg. "Naruto! Don't let Mizuki get the scroll! It contains forbidden jutsu that could put the Village in grave danger! Mizuki _used_ you to get the scroll for _himself- _for his _own_ power!" Mizuki watched calmly, though Naruto grunted with surprise, unsure of what to do next.

"Naruto," Spoke Mizuki as if to a young toddler, "Iruka's just trying to scare you, 'cuz he doesn't want _you_ to have the scroll!"

"Huh?" Gasped Naruto, glancing over to Iruka, a bewildered expression adorning his features.

"Stop _lying_, Mizuki! Don't let him trick you, Naruto!"

Mizuki merely laughed. "I'll tell you who's _really _lying, Naruto."

"_No, Mizuki!" _Yelled Iruka, desperately hoping Mizuki would just shut up.

"They've been lying to you your _whole life_ Naruto! Since the decree, twelve years ago..."

"... W-... What decree?" Naruto looked more shocked than anything, though his face was slightly slack with disbelief.

"_Everyone_ knows,except you." Stated Mizuki matter-of-factly. "Iruka's trying to hide it from you- even _now! _He'd do _anything _to shut me up!" Mizuki's brows turned down, his dark smirk becoming more and more evident.

"What is this decree- why does everyone else know about it?" Naruto asked brain was reeling as he tried to comprehend. What could it possibly be!?

"_Don't tell him! It's **Forbidden**!"_ Shouted Iruka, his face reddening with the effort. Mizuki smiled that unhealthy insane smile, and opened his mouth anyway.

"The decree _is_ no one can tell you the nine-tailed fox is inside _you!_" Naruto's eyes widened unbelievably, and his breath left him. "The spirit who killed Iruka's parents, and destroyed our village has taken over your body! You _are_ the nine-tailed fox"

"Stop _iiittt!" _Yelled Iruka through clenched teeth, but to no avail.

"They've all been _sneaking around, _hiding things from you your _whole life! _Even your precious _family._ Didn't you think it was strange how the people of the village hated you? They treated you like _dirt _for just being alive! Your _father_ did his best- but he couldn't shield you from everything could he? Don't you remember that night you saved that worthless little Hyugga?"

"She's _not _worthless! She's am-"

"That doesn't matter! The point is- you only had enough strength to save her because of the nine-tailed fox! Your father probably refused to explain it to you, or told you to not to worry about it. Maybe, he never mentioned the fact that he's not your real father!"

Naruto's face fell, and his breath retracted from his body. "NO! _No, no, no, no!" _Naruto's arms stretched out instinctively and the blue chakra began to swirl around him.

"Naruto!..." Moaned Iruka ruefully. There was nothing he could do...

"That why you'll _never_ be accepted in this village!" Ranted on Mizuki. "Even your beloved Sensei can't stand you!"

Iruka grabbed at his leg, remembering the Hokage's words that had chided him for over reprimanding Naruto. 'He could've been just like you... parent-less and alone. He was lucky- why on Earth would you crucify him for it?'

That had been when Naruto had first come to class, and had been a cheeky little bastard. But Sarutobi had been right, and Naruto had grown no him like the ugly mole on his thigh that he'd hated as a child, but that all his lovers had found odd and appealing- cute even. Naruto could've been just like him- and he was glad that he wasn't. But the fact that Naruto realized his father wasn't even who he'd thought made it almost the same.

"Die Naruto!" Mizuki spun the giant shurkien in his hand, then flung it. Naruto stared at it, deliberating whether or not it was worth it to move. His whole life was a lie... but he wanted to live! Naruto turned to move, tripping over a large, gnarled root of a tree. He fell on his face, hurriedly scrambling to move out the way of the shuriken.

"Naruto! Get down!" Shouted Iruka. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and covered his head with his hands, grimacing at the metallic sound of metal striking skin. He twisted around, shocked to see Iruka kneeling protectively over him, his face sweaty and pained. Naruto could see the bulk of the shuriken over Iruka's shoulder, his brain beginning to work again. Iruka had saved him!

Mizuki gasped, bewildered as to why Iruka had saved him. He hated that little brat!

"Iruka sensei... You didn't... why?"

"When I lost my parents... Oh, Naruto! You could've been like me- sad and alone... But you were lucky. You turned out great!"

"So did you! I've been lied to... my whole life..."

"Naruto, you're a great kid-"

"Don't make me _laugh! _Iruka always hated you- he was orphaned because the nine-tailed fox killed his parents!And that beast is now inside _you!_" Naruto sadly looked away from Iruka. "He'd say _anything_ to get the scroll from you!"

Naruto, refusing to listen anymore, shoved Iruka off of him and took off running.

"Naruto... Naruto!!!!" Shouted Iruka, his hand outstretched as if to follow him.

"You _know-_ once he's made his mind about something- _nothing_ can change it." Snickered Mizuki. "He's going to use the scroll to take revenge on the village. You saw that look in his eye, didn't you? Those are the eyes of a beast."

Iruka pulled the giant shuriken from his back with a low grunt, and began to stand up. "No... Naruto isn't like _that!" _Upon his last word, he spun around and flung the shuriken at Mizuki. Mizuki smirked and sidestepped out of the path of the shuriken.

"Ha! You're a joke-as soon as I eliminate Naruto, and get back the scroll,I'll be back for you." Mizuki disappeared, leaving Iruka half squatting on the ground, murmuring angrily- 'I'll catch you!'

* * *

Sarutobi peered into his orb, his brow creasing anxiously. "This is bad. Mizuki has a big mouth. He made Naruto feel bad... worse than he's ever felt before. If Naruto keeps tampering with the scroll, the seal that locks the spirit inside of him could be broken. Then... he could unleash the powers inside him. If that happens, and the beast comes out... I fear for us all."

Sarutobi somberly lowered his head, and began to pray.

* * *

Kakashi was checking everywhere he could think of- but Naruto just wasn't anywhere to be found! He ran a nervous hand through his hair, wondering why on Earth his son had done what he had.

Kakashi scowled, knowing that there was only one thing to do. He lowered his head, and slipped the headband down onto his neck. Naruto was so going to be grounded when he got a hold of him!

* * *

"Aha!" Gasped Iruka. "Naruto! Everything Mizuki said was a _lie_ give me the scroll- _hurry!"_

Naruto continued launching himself branch to branch like a rabbit, still glancing back behind him.

"Come on! He's coming after you take it away!"

Iruka sped in front of Naruto, blocking his path, and Naruto jumped to the next branch, and rocketed off of it. He landed a powerful sucker punch to Iruka's stomach, and Iruka let out a low grunt. Iruka flew down to the ground, landing hard and sliding a far distance.

Naruto landed heavily on his feet, sliding quite a distance as well. He back up though, when he slowed down. He stepped backwards, pulling the scroll off his back, and then sliding down to the ground at the foot of a tree.

"It can't be! How'd you know?" Gasped Iruka, slowly picking himself up off the sat behind him, the scroll tightly held in his lap. "Naruto! How did you know-" There was a poof, and then Iruka turned into Mizuki. "That it was me and not Iruka?"

Naruto laughed, and then there was another poof of light. "Because _I'm _Iruka." Iruka smiled triumphantly, and Mizuki's face froze.

And then he stood. "You're a fool. Why are you protecting that _freak!?_"

Naruto sat behind another tree close by, the scroll clutched tightly to him as he listened. "He's the one that writes out your family!" Continued Mizuki.

"I don't care what you say. You're not getting your hands on that scroll." Iruka said with great determination.

"As if you could stop me! Don't you get it? Naruto's just like me!" Smiled Mizuki.

"How's that?"

"He wants the scroll for his _own_ power, and his own vengence- that's how beasts are! He'll poor all his rage into the scroll, and destroy _everything!_"

"You're right." Grunted Iruka softly.

_"So he does think I'm a beast... some kind of monster!"_ Thought Naruto miserably.

"That _is_ how beasts are," Continued Iruka more loudly," But that's not who Naruto is! Naruto's one of a kind. He works hard, and puts his heart into everything. Sure he messes up, and granted he is a _goofball_- but that's what makes him who he is- and he's stronger because of it. That's what separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong, he's nothing like the nine-tailed fox- He's Naruto Hatake, of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!"

Behind his tree, the tears flowed freely from Naruto, and he tried to keep his sounds to a minimum.

"Iruka! You really believe that dribble? I _was_ going to save it for later, but I _changed_ my mind." Mizuki began to pull the other of the two large shuriken from his back, and began to spin it. "You're _finished!"_

Iruka welcomed the death, but then his eyes widened when out of nowhere, Naruto flew into Mizuki, knocking him back with a whopper of a punch to the bottom side of Mizuki's jaw.

"Not bad- for a little punk." Spat Mizuki.

"If you ever lay a hand on my Sensei- _or _threaten my _family-ever_-again, I swear to all that I know I will kill you myself!"Naruto snarled.

"Such big words!" Mocked Mizuki. "I can destroy you with a _single_ move!" He rose his arm to reinforce his statement, making a fist.

Naruto took a new stance, with a new hand formation, replying- "Take your best shot! I'll give it back a thousand full!"

"Let's see you try! Show me what you've got, nine-tailed fox!" Growled Mizuki.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Iruka's eyes widened, and then when he blinked again, he was surrounded by hundreds of Naruto's. '_Those aren't just illusions! They're solid clones! He's mastered an extremely advanced jutsu! Go, Naruto...' _

Mizuki's eyes widened, and the clones pounced when Naruto realized that Mizuki wasn't going to attack.

* * *

Kakashi was just arriving as Naruto was finishing up. He took one glance at the bloody Iruka, and the look that he gave him before he stepped between Naruto and Mizuki.

"I've got it, Naruto." Smiled Kakashi. Naruto sighed with a smile, and retracted all his clones. For once, he was completely out of his own chakra. He dazedly wobbled for a second, before passing out. Kakashi easily caught him, and cradled him close for a second before throwing him over his shoulder. He conjured up another clone to take Mizuki back to the Hokage, and Iruka explained all that happened. The clone was instructed to take the unconcious Mizuki to the Hokage, and to explain Naruto's role in the whole mess.

Iruka was then thrown over Kakashi's other shoulder, and his and Naruto's heads were near each other's when Naruto opened his eyes again.

"It's been a long day, huh?" Yawned Iruka achily.

Naruto nodded slightly before conking out again. He was tough, sure- but he wasn't superhuman! And his dad's back was so comfy....

**Author's Note- So this is really long, lol. :) I had to do this some time! I've been dreading it actually- I knew it would be a pain in the ass to write! But here it is- as promised, or rather expected. :) NOW- now that this is out of the way, we can carry on, ne? :) **

**Do I REALLY need to do the Zabuza chapter? Can I hand that off to another team, or just recap it? :P BLURGH I hope so! COMMENTS! **

**THOSE OF YOU WHO GAVE CHARACTERS! You will be in probably the next chapter for the teams ceremony! :D I hope your excited! :D **

**Lauren/MelloKAI  
**

Going to be some good lookin boys when they grow up.**A**


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